Heart treasure : or, The furniture of the soul

"ZlK

^e^ w

HEART treasure;

€^t /iiriiitiirr uf e I\n\i\ InuL

EYWOUD.

BY REV. OLIVER HEYWOOD.

REVISED AND EDITED

BY GEORGE B. IDE, D. J).

PHILADELPHIA:
AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY,

118 ARCH STREET,

PUBLIC ilBBABY

Q 1950 L ^

Enterc-d ticcordin^ to Act cf Congress, in the year 1852, by the

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUELICAIION SOCIETY,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in
and for the Eustem District of Pennsylvania.

^YiUfB Ihihiu

The author of the following -work bemg compara-
tively little known in this country, a brief notice of
his life s-nd elmracber may not he unacceptable to the
reader^

The Rev. Oliver Hejvvood was the «eco5id fion of
Richard and Alice Ileywood, and was born March,
1629, 'm iSie parish of Bolton, Laiicashire, England-
Both his parents were sincere and earnest "Christians.
His mother, especially, appears to have been not only
devotedly piou5, but highly intelligent, and w-ell qual-
ified to instruct and guide his youthful mind. To
her iastrumentslity he &scri]jes his "first religious im-
pressions- FroEa his -earliest childhood, it was her
constant endeavor to unfold to him the great truths
of ihe ^Gospel, to -awaken him to a sense of his lost
et^te &s a eimier^ and to direct him to Christ as the
only source of hope and salvation. The neighbor-
haotl; m ^Mch Jhe was bjsaught iij)^ ws^ also at that

VI EDITORS PliEFACE.

piety, that profound acquaintance with divine truth,
and that eminent success in its proclamation, for
•which he was subsequently so celebrated.

Having remained in the University until he received
his degree of Bachelor of Arts, he returned to his
father's house, to await the indications of Providence
in regard to his future sphere of labor. He continued
to reside with his parents for about half a year, pur-
suing his studies, and preaching, as occasion offered,
to the ignorant and destitute in the surrounding
hamlets. At Ihe expiration of this period, he received
a unanimous invitation from the congregation of
Colcy Chapel, in the West Eiding of Yorkshire, to
become their pastor. After much doubt and hesi-
tancy, and many days spent in earnest prayer and
self-examination, ho concluded to accept the invita-
tion, and was, in due time, regularly ordained to the
pastoral office, according to the Presbyterian form.
In this field, he labored for several years with great
energy, acceptance, and success. Under his ministra-
tions believers were instructed, edified, and made
more spiritual ; and large numbers of the impenitent
were aAvakencd and converted.

But while he was thus actively engaged in this
work, and witnessing many proofs of the Divine bles-
sino;» the Commonwealth came ta ojq. end,, and Charles

editor's preface. V

author now became connected ; and to the doctrines
and discipline of moderate Prcsbyterianisni he con-
tinued to adhere during his life.

Not long after his public profession of religion, his
mind began to be deeply exercised on the subject of
preaching the Gospel. lie felt such a strong and ir-
repressible desire to proclaim the tidings of mercy to
his perishing fellow men, that he was constrained to
regard it as an inward call o^the Spirit to this high
and responsible service. Accordingly, with the ad-
vice and consent of his parents and friends, he re-
solved to devote himself to the sacred work of the
ministry. With this view, having passed through the
requisite preparatory studies, he entered Trinity Col-
lege, Cambridge, July 9th, 1647, when he was about
eighteen years of age. During his residence in the
University, although he neglected none of the pre-
scribed means of mental development, he was yet
especially assiduous in the care of his heart, and the
3ultivation of practical godliness. He formed a close
intimacy with several pious students, who, like him-
self, afterwards became distinguished for their minis-
terial usefulness, and often met with them for mutual
edification in spiritual and experimental religion. In
this manner, while acquiring a store of human know-
ledge, he laid the foundation of that deep personal
1*

fv editor's preface.

time distinguished for its Christian privileges, and
for the number and zeal of those who professed the
religion of Jesus. Speaking of his birth-place, he
obserres ; " It hath long been famous for glorious
professors of the Gospel, and powerful preachers ;
and I take it as one of the great mercies of my life,
that my nativity was in Goshen, under the star of
Jacobus special influence." The means of instruc-
tion, which he thus enjoyed, were made effectual, by
the blessing of God, in bringing him to a saving
knowledge of the truth. So early, indeed, was he
the subject of serious impressions, that he was never
able to recollect when they first commenced, or to
detennine tlie precise period when the work of the
Spirit within him issued in vital conversion. At the
age of fourteen years, however, his religious princi-
ples and feelings had become so confirmed, that he
began to take part in the exercises of certain young
Christians, who were accustomed to meet during the
winter evenings for social conference and prayer ;
and soon after, he publicly declared his faith in
Christ, by receiving the Lord's Supper in the church
at Bolton. This was in the days of the Common-
wealth, when a large proportion of the churches in
England were organized according to the Presbyterian
model. Of this order was the church with which our

editor's preface. vii

II. ascended the throne of England. This was soon
followed by the restoration of Episcopacy, and the
passage of the act of Uniformity, by which all minis-
tors were required to conform to the doctrines, cere-
monies, and practices of the Established Church, on
pain of expulsion from their charges. By this intol-
erant and tyrannical measure, more than two thou-
sand of the best and most faithful ministers of
England were ejected from their livings, and driven
from their people, because they would not violate
their consciences by complying with what they be-
lieved to be contrary to the word of God. In this
noble band of Nonconformists Mr. Heywood was
included. Refusing to yield to the arrogant demands
of prelatical authority, he was deposed from his office,
and commanded to preach no more. And because
he still continued, in private houses, and wherever
opportunity was afforded, to teach the neglected
people who were left as sheep without a shepherd,
he was cited before the Bishops' court, heavily fined,
and publicly excommunicated. To the Act of
Uniformity succeeded, in a short time, what was
denominated the Five Mile Act, which prohibited
Nonconformist ministers, except in passing upon
the road, from coming within five miles of any parish
where they had acted as ministers, or within five

viii editor's preface.

miles of any city, corporate town, or borough, under
a penalty of forty pounds for every such offence.
But all these efforts of arbitrary power could not
silence this devoted servant of God. Wandering
from place to place, among the mountains, in retired
villages, in obscure and secluded neighborhoods, he
persevered in proclaiming the message of his Master.
His privations and sufferings were very great. Fre-
quently he was so closely beset by the minions of,
the law, that he could visit his home only in the
night. His goods were seized and carried off by the
sheriff. Once he was arrested, and confined as a
close prisoner in York Castle for twelve months. His
means of subsistence were cut off, and he was often
on the verge of extreme want. But Providence con-
stantly interposed in his behalf, and raised up friends
to succor him in every emergency. The houses of
the pious were every where open for his reception
and entertainment. Wherever he went he preached,
and wherever he preached multitudes flocked to hear
him. Thus, notwithstanding the severity of the legal
prohibitions, and notwithstanding the vigilance of
his persecutors, who hunted him from village to vil-
lage with sleepless pertinacity, he continued, for
more than twenty years, to publish the word of life
among the destitute population around him. In no

EDITOR S PREFACE. IX

period of his life, perhaps, was he more useful. He
was a great blessing to the scattered people of God
in this hour of darkness ; and, through his instru-
mentality, very many of the ignorant and thoughtless
were led to embrace the Saviour.

After the death of Charles, and the accession of
James II., the oppressive enactments against the
Nonconformists were repealed, and liberty of con-
science partially restored. Mr. Ilcywood, being once
more allowed the free exercise of his ministerial func-
tions, built a chapel, and collected a congregation at
Northowram, in the vicinity of his former field of
labor. Here he remained as pastor until his decease.
But though he was now settled over a regular charge,
yet, during the long season of his ejectment, he had
become so attached to itinerant work, that he never
afterwards laid it aside. "While statedly ministering
to his own people on the Sabbath, he spent a large
portion of the week in missionary labors among the
destitute. From a statement of his biographer it ap-
pears, that principally during the last seventeen years
of his life, besides his regular work on the Lord's
day, he preached on week days more than 3000 Ser-
mons, and travelled in preaching excursions more
than 30,000 miles. And his labors were as eminently
blessed as they were abundant. Many thousand

X editor's preface.

souls, it has been computed, were brought, through
his means, to a saving knowledge of Christ. So pow-
erful and lasting, indeed, was the impression pro-
duced by his ministry, that although nearly two
centuries have since passed away, his memory is still
reverently cherished through all the region over
which he once scattered " the seed of the kingdom.''
Thus toiling incessantly in his Master's service to
the last, he died, full of hope and peace. May 4th,
1702, in the seventy-third year of his age, and fifty-
second of his stated ministry.

Mr. Heywood was twice married. His first wife
was Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Kev. John Angier, a
distinguished minister at Denton. By her he had two
sons, John and Eliezcr, both of whom became useful
ministers of the gospel. After six y^ears of great do-
mestic happiness, she was removed from him by
death. His second wife was Miss Abigail Crompton,
of Breightmet, near Bolton. She proved a faithful and
affectionate companion, and contributed greatly to his
support and comfort during the harassing persecu-
tions to which he was subjected.

Our author published, at different times, several
valuable treatises, on religious subjects. In 1827
these were collected and reprinted in five volumes 8vo,
with an extended memoir of his life, labors, and

EDITOR S PREFACE, XI

suflforings. The work now reissued was the earliest
of his publications. It was written while he was an
exile from his home, fleeing from kamlet to hamlet to
escape the blood-hounds of a persecuting Hierarchy ;
and, as might be expected, it is richly fraught with
those precious truths, which formed the consolation
of his own heart amidst his wanderings and trials.
In revising it, the editor has deemed it expedient so
to modify the language as to render the work more
generally useful to our own times. Some change has
also been made in the arrangement of subjects. The
part which treats of Meditation, appeared originally
in the form of an Appendix. It is now incorporated
into the body of the book, with such alterations and
additions as seemed necessary to adjust it to its new
position. Here and there, too, a paragraph has been
inserted to improve the connection, or greater expan-
sion given to a thought too briefly stated. With these
exceptions, the ideas are precisely the same as in the
original work. "While, in the mere choice of words,
and structure of sentences, the editor has felt himself
at liberty to make any changes which in his judgment
appeared desirable, he has endeavored scrupulously
to preserve the main scope and spirit of the author.
Should any lover of antique phraseology complain of
the freedom which he has thus taken, he can only say,

xii editor's preface.

that his object has not been to gratify the curious,
but to benefit the Christian Public at large. And he
is persuaded that, to the mass of readers, the book
will be far more acceptable in a form of expression
to which they are accustomed, than if clothed in the
obsolete garb of by-gone centuries.

The work has never before been issued in a form
adapted to general circulation ; and it is now most
earnestly commended to the devout perusal and study
of the children of God. It contains nothing of a
denominational character. It is not controversial ;
nor is it doctrinal, abstractly considered. It deals
wholly with those great topics of- vital religion, in
which Christians of every name are alike interested.
And its exhibition of these topics is marked by a
depth of pious feeling, and an experimental know-
ledge of the workings of grace in the soul, very seldom
to be found. It may not, indeed, possess all that
logical anal^'sis, and that close consecutiveness of
thought, by which more modern writings are charac-
terized ; but it possesses, what many modern writings
lack — eminent spirituality, and a thoroughly evangeli-
cal tone. In these respects, it is worthy to take its
place by the side of the devout treatises of Bunyan,
and riavel, and Baxter. Works of this description
are greatly needed at the present day, when, amidst

EDITOR S PREFACE. XIH

Jie rush of events, and the constant calls to outward
activity, there is a strong tendency to neglect the culti
ration of in^vard holiness. The editor has found the
labor, -which he has bestowed on the book, more than
compensated by the good which it has done his own
soul. And it is his earnest prayer and hope that it
may prove equally instructive and quickening to all
into whose hands it shall come.

CONTENTS.

PAOB

Editor's Preface iii

Extract from the Author's Dedication xiv

CHAPTER I.
Introduction 1

CHAPTER II.
The Nature of a Treasure 6

CHAPTER III.
The Christian's Treasure 13

CHAPTER IV.
The laying out of Heart-Treasure 24

CHAPTER v.
Necessity of this Treasure 35

CHAPTER VI.

Self-examination relative to it 58

CHAPTER VII.
Neglect of it Reproved 72

CHAPTER VIIT.
Instructions for the Destitute 100

CHAPTER IX.

Directions relative to Holy Principles 126

(XV)

XVI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER X. PAGH

Truths to be Treasur-ed up 165

CHAPTER XI.

CULTIYATION OF CHRISTIAN GrACES 177

CHAPTER XII.
Experiences to be Collected 192

CHAPTER XIII.

Comforts to ee laid up as a Treasure 208

CHAPTER XIV.
Preservation and Increase of a Christian's

Treasure 223

CHAPTER XV.

Meditation a Means of increasing Heart-Trea-
sure : Subjects of Meditation 250

CHAPTER XVI.
Occasional Meditations 282

CHAPTER XVII.
How Meditation preserves and increases

Heart-Treasure 300

CHAPTER XVIII.

Rules for the Employment of this Treasure. . 316

CHAPTER XIX.
Its Excellence and Advant-age 335

CHAPTER XX.
The Doubting Assured 374

CHAPTER XXI.
General Exhortation 388

HEATIT-TREASURE.

*. GOOD MAN, OTJT OP THE GOOD TREAPTTRB OP TITE HKAEt, BKIN«n«

Foarn good tjiixgs.— matt. xu. 35,

Our Divine Tcaclicr, like a skillful alchemist,
extracts the pure gold of wholesome doctrine from
common objects and occurrences. From material
water, He discourses on the spiritual water of life.
From natural bread, He ascends to soul-nourishing
conferences on His own flesh and blood, that
living Bread which came down from heaven-
Passing through vineyards, He improves the op-
portunity to speak of Himself as the true Vine, and
of those saints that are really grafted into Him,
and bring forth corresponding fruit. Thus also, ia
my text, he takes an occasion of uttering precious
medicinal truths, from the poisonous blasphemies
of the Scribes and Pharisees. He had just cast
out a blind and dumb devil. This glorious miracle
produced very diflerent effects on different indi-
viduals. On the person possessed., it wrought
soundness ', oa the people, amazement ; on the
Pharisees, madness and blasphemy, insomuch that
fchej- chai'ge God himself with im|x>.sture. To

I a)

these- hst oar L©>nl directs the discoiirst3 in wMc-?i
the text o@ciir&. He refaies tkeir unfounded ca-
lumny hj clear arguments;, demonstrating His
divine fewer in the miracle. He exposes, more-
©ver, tlse liemo'tts e^irsiEialitj of ike slander ; and
exhorts, tfeem to repentanee, in the most earnest
and solemn i^anner; ^"gi^g them to eonceive more
correct! J o€ divine vforks^ arsd to spetkk o-f them
more r&verentlj; since for every idle, niueh more
blaspbenioiis e-xpiessions, th€j must give aeeounS
in the day of judgmea-fc.

In the course of this exbortatioB, He shows that
thoDgL^ts aie the Srst-born of the tseart, the foun-
tain from whkh ailJ outward expressions flow.
Words are b'at the eeho of the lan-guage of the
^eart. There may be la-ncb m tbe heaijt which is
aevcr lattered hy the Mps; hut nothing can fall
froni the latter which has not its origin in the
lormer; " for oi^t of hlM: aS/uc-danee of tke heart
the moath speal^teth/* This He illmstrates hy the
metaphor of a treasure laid up in the heart, from
which good and evil meii bring forth respectively
good and evil things. To the' first part of this
similitude alone — the heart-treasure of the good
man — -tb.e present oxamiaation Felafees. A brief
explanation, of the terms in whieh it is- expressed,
may assist in foimiing a eorrc@t view; oi its. iniporfe.

"Phis tijeasujce i& desciilb^ a^ tke p-ro^rt^ oi' a

INTRODUCTION. 3

good man. In an absolute sense, ^^ there is none
good but God/' He alone possesses original, es-
sential, independent, perfect goodness. But in a
lower signification of the term, the Scriptures de-
nominate men good, who, through the application
of atoning blood, and by the renewing influence
of the Divine Spirit, have become imbues with the
principles of vital godliness, and exhibit them in
their temper and conduct. Thus it is said of Bar-
nabas, that ''he was a good man, and full of the
Holy Ghost and faith.'' It is in this latter sense
that the expression is employed in the text.

The treasure is represented as itself good. The
word, treasure, is metaphorical, and refers to the
husbandman and tradesman accumulating in store
what must be used in aftertimes ; or to provision
laid up for the whole year by the mistress of a
household. It denotes the supply of holy principles
and afi'ections with which the mind of a true be-
liever is replenished, and which are ready to be
called into exercise as occasion may demand. And
it is designated as good, to mark its opposition to
the '' treasures of wickedness" — the depravity ana
pollution of irreligious men.

It is a treasure of tlic heart. The heart is the
mainspring of human conduct. As the sun moves
and guides all the spheres of heaven ; so does this
little thing in the little world of man animate all

4 HEART-TREASURE.

his operations. By heart I mean the rational soul,
with all its faculties of understanding, memory,
will, and affection, which constitute the chief and
nohlest part of man. The heart is the seat of love
and of hatred, of joy and of sorrow, of all that is
excellent and of all that is corrupt in human
character; and the heart of a Christian, purified
and furnished from above, is rendered a depository
of the choicest treasures — a cabinet of jewels most
rare and precious.

From this good treasure the good man hrlngs
forth good things. He employs and dispenses the
holy fund within him, in suitable communications,
for the comfort of his own soul, and the benefit of
others. This is drawing off the fountain into
several channels; the carrying out the principles
of grace into practice ; the exercise and improve-
ment of what has been laid up ; the trading with
the talent, required of every soul that hopes for
the approval of Christ at the last day. And these
communications are good ; good spiritually ; good
in their matter, manner, and end ; pleasing to Ood,
profitable to man, and comforting to him by whom
they are made. They are healthful and fertilizing
streams, flowing from the spring of true grace in
the heart, through the banks and bounds of the
divine commands, to the infinite ocean of God's
glory.

INTRODUCTION. 5

The sum of all^ then, is, that the character and
conduct of every man will be in strict accordance
with the state of his heart. We judge of the
heart by outward acts ; but God judges of outward
acts by the inward temper. Hence there is great
truth in that saying of Luther, that *' good works
do not make good men, but they must first be
made good men, before they can do good works ;
SO; on the other hand, evil works do not properly
make evil men, but evil men are themselves the
authors of evil works." Actions, whether good or
bad, always presuppose corresponding moral aifcc-
tions out of which they grow. Yet it is true, that
good actions make good men better, as evil actions
make bad men worse ; for actions strengthen both
principles and habits.

The whole of the instruction, contained in the
passage which has now been examined, may be
briefly comprised in this one statement ; a good
treasure in the heart is necessary to a good expen-
diture in the life. No man can do good, except
be first be good ; there must be a laying in before
there can be a laying out.

The nature, necessity, and results of this trea-
sure in the heart, together with the means of
securing it, and the manner in which it should be
employed, will form the subject of the ensuing
treatise.

1*

CHAPTER 11.

THE NATURE OP A TREASURE.

A TREASURE consists of things laid up for sub-
gequent use; and the acquisition of treasure in-
volves several particulars, all of which suit with the
laying up of spiritual provision in general.

1. It implies carefulness, anxious thoughts, soli-
citous endeavors. It is easy to scatter, but it re-
quires industry to gather. Experience shows us,
that they who strive for a great estate, take pains
in the day, and plan in the night, while the eager-
ness cf desire will not suflfer them to sleep. So is
it in spiritual things. It requires much care and
effort to secure an abiding provision for the soul.
Spiritual goods are not got with a wet finger.
They drop not into the mouth of a careless loiterer.
The more choice anything is, the more difiBcult is
it to be attained. 0 think not to gain heaven by
laziness ! '^ The kingdom of heaven suffereth vio-
lence, and the violent take it by force." A reso-
lute Christian, as it were, storms this uphill city;
as soldiers run to seize the prey, or racers to obtain
the prize.
(6)

NATURE OF A TREASUtlS. f

2. It implies choiccncss ia the things kid up.
It is Bet ali labor that obtains a treasure, ^^ They
labor ia the very fire, that weary themselves for
very vanity.' ' Mea may expend mcncy tmd labor
for that which can neither profit 'Qor satisfy. Many
things are better missed thae gained. Stones and
straws make no good treasure, A wise man will
not account himself rich with toys and trifles, A
Christian's treasure consists in spiritual things,
which alone possess intrinsic and lasting value*
Oold and silver arc but worthless clay, compared
with eternal riches. Spiritual blessings only make
believers blessed. Nothing can be esteemed a
treasure, which docs not come from heaven, and
lead to it. The good things of the throne ai'C &
saint's fa-easui*e j the good things of the footstool
are the portion of wicked men j but whatever
abundance of them they may possess, even though
^' their bellies be filled v.'ith hid treasures," they
can derive from them no solid happiness. All
earthly comforts are vain and empty, when viewed
as the heritage of the soul. The whole world can-
not counterbalance a single grain of grace. We
estimate things by their worth, not by their bulk.
The small diamond is of more value than mountains
of sand. Only heavenly riches can make a trea-
sure fit for the immortal mind.

3, It implies suitableness in the things stored up.

8 HEART-rREASUBE-

No sensible man will lay up what he knows he
ghall never need, and account it his treasure.
Every tradesman lays up that which is adapted to
his calling. ClothierS; staplers, tanners, husband-
men, have all their appropriate provisions, suited
to their respective vocations. That may be an in-
cumbrance to one, which is an advantage to
another. Kings have their peculiar treasure —
possessions, to which none but kings may aspire.
So all God's kings have their peculiar treasure,
which, as it is different from all others, is likewise,
in some respects, various in itself. Moses had a
treasure of meekness. Job of patience, Solomon of
wisdom, John of love. As the child of God is to
come behind in no gift, so is he to excel in that
which he is more especially called to exercise. It
is a great duty and mystery in religion to be wise
in observation, and prudent in providing. Let
Christians lay up supplies suitable to the several
ages, states, offices, burdens, duties, relations,
trials, and temptations, through which they may
have to pass in the course of their lives ; so shall
they not be unfurnished or unprepared, but which-
ever way the Lord may lead them in this uneven
world, still their feet shall stand in an even place,
and go straight to heaven.

4. A treasure imports sufficiency. Store hath
no lack. It is abundance that constitutes a trea-

NATURE OF A TREASURE. 9

sure. The granary of Egypt afforded plenty of
corn. A scant portion is not wealth. Spiritual
goods are a Christian's riches; and he ought to bo
rich in these riches, rich in faith, and rich in good
works. What a significant expression is that of
the apostle Paul, where he prays that believers
*' may be filled with all the fulness of God l"
What, can our narrow vessels contain an infinite
ocean ? This is, indeed, impossible. Yet, though
we cannot hold all, he would have us possess all.
He would have us know the love of Christ which
passeth knowledge, that our intellectual faculties
may be furnished with heavenly light; and he
would have us filled with all grace, as the richest
treasure of our will and afiections. Nothing less
than fullness can satisfy his desire ; nay, further,
the fullness of God ; yet, higher, all the fullness
of God. Let the vessel be filled to the brim, and
let it be made more capacious to receive lai-ger
incomes. Never can the believing soul have grace
enough, till grace be perfected and crowned with
glory. A gracious heart hath an insatiable appe-
tite after heavenly delights and dainties. Nothing
is so good as grace ; and the more a soul has of it,
the more it longs for increased supplies.

6. A treasure implies secrecy. Valued posses-
sions are not exposed to the common view of all
men. It was weakness and folly, begotten by os

10 HEART-TREASURE.

tentatious pride, that induced Hezekiah to exhibit
his treasure to the Bab3'^loiiian messengers. Trea-
sures are usually hid in secret places. Hence we
read of " treasures of darkness, and hidden riches
of secret places," and of " a treasure hid in a field."
So this good man's treasure is said to be in his
heart. The apostle Peter calls inward holiness
" the hidden man of the heart." Into this none
can see but the heart-searching God. He only,
who knows all things, is the anatomist of this close
and hidden man. Men see the face, but they see
not what lies within. Hence it is that the greatest
and best part of a Christian's treasure is invisible;
as the roots of a tree under the earth, or the bottom
of a ship under water ; or rather as a merchant's
goods in his warehouse. Thus is it with the
saint's treasure. He is a Jew inwardly. His cir-
cumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and
not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but
of God. The regenerate soul is the King's daugh
ter, all glorious within, though some sparklings of
grace appear without. The best and the worst of
a soul is hid from the view of men. Happy were
it for a Christian if he had no more corruption
than appears outwardly; and wretched were he
also, if he had no more grace than others can take
notice of.

6. It is a treasure for its safety. This treasure.

NAIURE OF A TB£ASURE. 11

being out of men's view, is therefore secure from
their reach and touch. Treasures lie not loose, but
are under lock and key. Treasure-cities are al-
ways well fenced, with guards appointed to attend
them. And sure I am, that the treasure of a
Christian is safe. Grace and peace are a saint's
freehold, of which neither men nor devils can de-
prive him. Mary's better part cannot be taken
from her. As soon may Christ be plucked out of
heaven, as grace out of a believer's heart. The
treasure of joy can no man take from him; for
this pure stream grows stronger and sweeter, until
it is swallowed up in the vast ocean of our Master's
J03^ on high. A Christian's treasure is locked up
in his heart, which is a cabinet that none can wrest
open. Christ's heart was pierced, that a Chris-
tian's might remain untouched ; hence it becomes
impenetrable and invulnerable. A lively emblem
of this was the heart of John Huss, which re-
mamed entire, even when his body was consumed by
the flames. The heart of a saint may be pulled out
of his bosom, but not his treasure out of his heart.
7. In a treasure there is readiness for a present
supply. It is but giving a turn with the key,
and taking out provision, and making use there-
of, and all is as socn prepared as Abraham's
feast for the angels, or Jacob's venison for his
father Isaac. He that hath a treasure of food,

12 HEART-TREASURE.

hath it not to seek when he should use it.
He is not perplexed and embarrassed, like the
man in the Parable, who ran to call up his neigh-
bor, to borrow three loaves, because he had nothing
to set before his friend that came unexpectedly.
The well furnished Christian can make God wel-
come in all His visits ; can own Him as a Friend,
whether He come by day or by night, in mercy or
in judgment; and be ready, even in the most sud-
den and unlooked for emergencies, to receive and
entertain his celestial Guest. Of this we have a
striking illustration in the Parable of the wise and
foolish Virgins. The oil in the lamp is the trea-
sure of grace in the heart; and although the vir-
gin Christian may slumber as to the exercise of
grace, yet, having its root and essence still living
within him, he is ready, on a sudden alarm, to go
forth to meet the Bridegroom, and to enter with
Him into eternal blessedness. The foolish virgin
is the treasureless soul, the graceless sinner, who
has no oil at all, but while he goes to buy, is shut
out of the presence-chamber. On this I shall
dwell more at large hereafter. At present, let it
only be observed in general, that he that hath a
treasure, will be quickly furnished with all accom-
modations, on all occasions.

CHAPTER IIL

THE christian's TREASURE.

The second general inquiry is, what is the trea-
sure of which our Saviour speaks in the text ? I
conceive it is principally intended of the thoughts
of the heart, which are called the possessions of
the heart, because these are the first-born of the
soul, and enjoy the inheritance of it. You cannot
turn off the thoughts from their freehold. You
may suspend the tongue from speaking, and the
hand from acting; but you cannot suspend the
soul from thinking, while it is a rational soul ; for
this is an essential property of it, so long as it con-
tinues to be itself. Good or bad thoughts are
every man's treasure and possession; and these
centre and settle in the heart ; these are the spring
and source of actions and expressions. Now, it is
said of a godly man ; '^ The thoughts of the right-
eous are right ;'' or, as the word imports, they are
in harmony with law, judgment, measure. A
gracious person thinks as he is, according to the
rules of enlightened and sanctified reason. His
thoughts run in a right channel, to right objects,
2 (13)

14 HEART-TREASURE.

for right ends; and are, therefore, very precious,
and may well be called a treasure. Hence David's
exclamation, ''How precious also are Thy thoughts
unto me !'' Or, as some interpret the words. How rare
and dear are the thoughts I have of Thee to my
soul ! This meaning is rendered probable by what
follows, '' When I awake I am still with Thee" —
that is, in holy thoughts and heavenly meditations.
A pious man's thoughts are a precious treasure.
If his " tongue be as choice silwr," what are his
thoughts, which furnish the tongue with profitable
discourse ?

Now, as the thoughts feed the tongue and the
hand, so there are four springs that feed and fur-
nish the heart with holy thoughts. These are like
the four rivers of Paradise ; they water the divine
garden of a Christian's soul ; and being followed to
the head, will certainly lead the believer upward to
the celestial Paradise.

These thought-nourishing streams are — Scrip-
tural Truth — Spiritual Graces — Large Experi-
ences— and Lively Comforts.

The first of these, scriptural truth, is like the
river Pison, ''which compasseth the whole land of
Havilah, where there is gold." So this takes in
the whole territory of the Holy Scriptures, where
there are such choice mines of divine teachings as
to make the soul both wise and rich unto salvation.

THE christian's treasure. 15

It is a great mercy to have the understanding re-
plenished with a saving knowledge of gospel mys-
teries. Hence we are commanded to " buy the
truth;" to "search the Scriptures/' to "seek for
wisdom as for silver/' and " for knowledge as for
hid treasures." And the apostle exhorts us, "Let
the word of God dwell in you richly in all wis-
dom/' that is, copiously, abundantly. The ex-
pression denotes two things — the measure in which
the word of God should dwell within us, and so
implies plenteousness ; and then the value of such
spiritual furniture, and thus indicates richness.
And surely a great stock of scriptural knowledge
is a priceless treasure, 0 what a blessed thing is
it to have a man's breast the library of Jesus
Christ! The Sacred Scriptures are the wealth
and the joy of a gracious soul. To David they
were better than thousands of gold and silver. A
mountain of transparent pearls, heaped as high as
heaven, would be poor and mean compared with
these. Hence he chose them as his heritage for-
ever, and rejoiced in them as in all riches. A
covetous miser could not take such delight in his
bags, nor a young heir in a large inheritance, as
holy David did in God's word. All the saints are
priests unto God. Now, of Levi it is said, " The
law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was
not found in his lips," So it is or ought to be

16 HEART-TREASURE.

with G-od's spiritual priests ; they should have the
law of Grod graven in their hearts, and on their
tongues the law of kindness and holiness. The
word law, comes from a root that signifies to try,
as merchants try and prove the wares which they
buy and lay up. Hence also comes the word for
gems and jewels, which are tried and found right.
The sound Christian is the wise merchant, seeking
goodly pearls. He tries what he reads or hears,
by the standard and touchstone of Scripture; and
having found genuine truths, he lays them up to
the great enriching of this supreme and sovereign
faculty of the understanding.

Another spring, that feeds holy thoughts, is
found in spiritual graces — those fruits of the Spirit,
which exceedingly help the fruit of the lips. If
the will a^id affections be sanctified with a principle
of true holiness, the lips and the life will bring
forth heavenly expressions and actions. "The
fear of the Lord is a fountain of life." A gracious
habit streams freely and fully into all the acts of
spiritual life, and is at last swallowed up in the
ocean of eternal life. It is said of Jesus Christ,
the Divine Source of all grace, that " the fear of
the Lord is His treasure ;'' and we also may say,
that it is the Christian's treasure. A head full of
notions will not make the soul rich, without a
heart full of grace. It is grace that ennobles the

THE christian's TREASURE. 17

soul, and strengthens it to bear burdens, and to
fulfill duties. Without the operation of grace in
the heart, there can be no holiness in the life. All
works of piety, charity, and sobriety, must flow
from a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith un-
feigned. These unitedly contribute their influence
to every good work. Obedience respects the com-
mand of a superior ; love, the kindness of the law-
giver; faith, his bounty and reward. The first
sways the conscience; the second inclines the
heart; the third gives encouragement; and sure I
am, that without these there can be no spiritual
actings in an evangelical manner. He only pos
sesses a gospel frame of spirit, who has the law
written in his heart, and the works thereof in his
hand, and whose life is a continual transcript of
this blessed copy. For '^ he that doeth righteousness,
is righteous ;'* yea, it is he that moveth heaven
ward, from a living treasure of gracious principles,
and not from external compulsion, as clocks, and
such dead, unconscious machines, are moved by ar-
tificial weights and springs. Hence, with the
Church, each true believer can exclaim, '^ My soul
made me like the chariots of Amminadab '/' or, as
it is otherwise rendered, " like the chariots of a
willing people." If, as the words are sometimes
explained, they refer primarily to Christ, still they

are no less applicable to every truly gracious indi-
9*

18 HEART-TREASURE.

vidual, who is actuated by a new and living prin-
ciple towards Grod and goodness. In the day of
Christ's power, His people are volunteers in the
way of duty. They are influenced by a free and
princely spirit; the renewed will being the great
engine that moves the soul in holy obedience.
Their own spirits, renovated and impelled by re-
deeming Love, make them the willing servants of
God.

Another stream, that feeds holy thoughts, is
well gathered experience. The Christian's breast
should be a treasury of experimental observations,
which may be improved as props to uphold a tot-
tering faith. It is said of those who witnessed the
striking events connected with the birth of John
the Baptist, that they ''laid them up in their
hearts." And thus we find Jacob, Samuel, David,
Paul, and many others, carefully collecting and
recalling their formes experiences. Space would
fail to notice all the instances of this kind. A
careful and devout record of the time, place, and
manner of divine dispensations and discoveries,
has been of unspeakable advantage to believers.
Experience begets hope ; and we lose many im-
portant benefits by neglecting its teachings. Sig-
nal memorials of received mercies help us in the
performance of present duties, and quicken faith,
in the prospect of the greatest future difl&culties.

THE christian's TREASURE. 19

All artists ga-ther knowledge by recording experi-
ments; and he is the wisest Christian, who, like
Solomon, has his heart filled with wisdom, gathered
from the fields of experience. Experience is the
best instructor, and best aids a man in instructing
others. An experienced physician, or lawyer, is
seldom non-plussed ; an experienced soldier comes
ofi" with honor. 0 Christians ! lay up in your
hearts what you have seen with your eyes, and felt
in your souls, of the vanity of worldly attainments
and joys, and of the excellence of those which are
spiritual and heavenly. You cannot be too young
to collect experiences; you cannot be too old to
recollect and improve them. If your green heads
would use diligence, your gray hairs would be
crowned with a rich diadem of practical knowledge
and skill, by means of which the works and duties,
so difficult in your younger years, would be ren-
dered, in your old age, easy and pleasant, A
young carpenter is long with a little, and makes
many chips; while an experienced workman de-
spatches his task both more quickly and more
neatly. It is so in religion; all its labors and
exercises are greatly facilitated by experience.
And how does experience feed thoughts ? In this
manner. When a soul is at a pinch, and the heart
struck dead with some sudden surprisal, so that
the thoughts are puzzled, experience comes in tc

20 HEART-TREASURE.

bring relief, and represents the matter as feasible,
since it can call to mind as arduous a case, which
yet was not insuperable. Thus it kindles hope for
the future, from the torch which memory holds
over the past. And thus it marshals the faculties
of the soul in their proper ranks, and brings it
through the present undertaking with order and
victory, whether it involve the discharge of duty,
3r the endurance of trial.

The last stream, that supplies the heart with
heavenly thoughts, flows from the wells of divine
consolation. This refreshes the soul with cheering
incomes and influences. This makes it both happy
and fruitful. In the midst of painful reflections,
and terrifying apprehensions, the comforts of God
delight the soul. 0 the joy which these beget
under the pressure of sorrow ! Nothing can fatally
injure our peace, if we are blessed with the pre-
sence and communion of the Saviour. The sense
of His love sheds a serene and undying light upon
all the gloom of doubt, and the darkness of adver-
sity. The fullness of satisfaction which it pro-
duces, pervades and engrosses the heart, and leaves
no room for carking cares, and corroding anxieties.
There is no misery on earth, which these divine
joys cannot allay ; one drop of them would even
mitigate hell torments. Tliis is a treasure, indeed,
which, as it is of great efficacy, so it is the satis-

THE christian's TREASURE. 21

fyiug result of the fore-mentioned provision.
Scriptural truths, spiritual graces, an-d sensible ex-
periences, always bring with them pure and solid
peace. But, in addition to these, there are two
other sources by which the comfort of the soul is
greatly increased. These are the promises of the
Gospel, and the testimony of a clear conscience.

Promises are the storehouse of comfort, the
charter of our privileges, the conveyances of our
heavenly inheritance. Promises are the breasts
of consolation ; the great receptacles of that sin-
cere milk of the word, stored up for babes in
Christ. '' The promises," says a good divine, "are
bills of exchange given you, that you may draw
your estate into another country." Nothing can
cheer up the heart like a promise. Hence David
desires to "hear the voice of joy and gladness," —
that is, in a promise. Upon this means of spirit-
ual comfort, whether it relate to present or future
enjoyments, the word of God hath put its seal.
" Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the
promise of the life that now is, and of that which
is to come." It is said of the Duke of Guise, that
he was the richest man in France, though not in
lands, yet in bills and bonds, and great friends.
So a true Christian is the richest man in the world,
both in possession, and in reversion, for "all
things are" his, "whether Paul, or Apollos, or

22 HEART-TREASURE.

Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things
present, or things to come." These exceeding
great and precious promises may cheer up the
heart of a drooping saint, were it as low as hell;
for they were made and confirmed with an oath,
that the heirs of promise might have strong conso-
lation. It is strange if the bucket of faith do not
always draw up the water of consolation out of the
wells of salvation. God hath ordered in nature
our feeding to be with pleasure. Thus, also,
in spiritual things, our application and improve-
ment of promises are attended with sweetness and
delight. Here, then, is one great means of com-
fortable thoughts — the believing of soul-enriching
promises.

Clearness of conscience is also a help to com-
fortable thoughts. Yet observe, that peace is not
so much efi'ected as preserved by a good conscience
and conversation; for though joy in the Holy
Ghost will make its nest nowhere but in a holy
soul, yet the blood of Christ only can speak peace.
" Being justified by faith, we have peace with God,
through our Lord Jesus Christ.'' An exact life
will not make, but keep conscience quiet; just as
an easy shoe heals not a sore foot, but keeps a
sound one from crushing. Walking with God,
according to gospel rules, hath peace entailed upon
it; and that peace is su^'j a treasure, that thereby

THE christian's TREASURE. *23

ft Christian may have his rejoicing from himself.
His own heart sings him a merry tune, which the
threats and reproaches of the world cannot silence.
This treasure of comfort is not exhausted by afflic-
tion ; death itself does not destroy, but increases
and advances it to an eternal triumph. 0 the ex-
cellency and necessity of it ! Paul laid it up for
a death-bed cordial; ^^ Our rejoicing is this, the
testimony of our conscience." And Hezekiah
dares hold it up to God, as well as cheer up him-
self with it, on the approach of death. A con-
science good in point of integrity, will be good also
in point of tranquillity. "The righteous are bold
as a lion." "Great peace have they who love Thy
law, and nothing shall offend them." "If our
heart condemn us not, then have we confidence to-
wards God." O what comfort and solace has
a clear conscience! A conscientious man hath
something within, to answer accusations from
without. He carries ever with him a treasure so
rich and full, that it will not fail in the greatest
straits and hazards. In the eloquent words of
Bernard, " the pleasures of a good conscience are
the Paradise of souls, the joy of angels, a garden
of delights, a field of blessing, the temple of Solo-
mon, the court of God, the habitation of the Holy
Spirit."

CHAPTER lY.

THE LAYING OUT OF HE ART-TREAS . BK.

Hitherto the laying up of a treasure of good
thoughts, by the accession of truths, graces, expe-
riences, and comforts, has been considered. The
next point to be noticed, is, how this treasure is
brought forth, expended, and improved; for that
treasure is in a manner useless, that is not em-
ployed. Now this treasure is brought into exer-
cise in four ways — in meditation, in discourse, in
action, and in suJGfering.

I. The heart employs it in devout soliloquies
and heavenly meditations, in cheering sentiments
and elevating emotions. These keep the Christian
such good company, that he is never less alone
than when alone. Scripture truths are sweet and
satisfying companions in all conditions, places, and
stations. "When thou goest, it shall lead thee;
when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee ; and when
thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.^^ And what
ean we desiye more than a guide in our way, ai
guard arouad our beds, and a sweet companion in
our solitudes and serious retirements ? Such are
(24)

ITS LAYING OUT. liD

diviDG truths. A Christian may live upon this
treasure in a wilderness, in a prison, aye, as
Luther says, even in hell itself. God's statutes
-were David's songs in the house of his pilgrimage.
Isaac went out into the fields for recreation, and
took his treasure along with him, getting a solitary
aud savory repast of meditation. When a man is
shut out from ordinances, *' his soul may be satis-
fied as with marrow and fatness, when it meditates
on God in the night watches;" yea, when dull and
discouraging thoughts discompose the spirit, this
treasure helps as a holy charm to raise the spirit
of the believer, and drive away the evil spirit of
deadness and distraction. Meditation is a kind of
deliberate ecstacy; the harmonious melody of the
soul's faculties within itself by a mutual and mu-
sical concert. It is the soul's self-conference heard
only by itself. It is a restoring of meat formerly
taken down, and difi'using it into the several veins
and arteries of the soul. Meditation, in a word, is
a holy concoction and digestion of divine truths,
which prepares and ripens the soul for heaven. O
the ravishing nature of a close and fixed medita-
tion ! It is a God-enjoying and self-profiting ex-
ercise. The devout soul, that is thus furnished
with a treasure, can expatiate upon all things, and,
like the laborious bee, fetch the honey of some
comfort out of every object and subject. When
3

26 HEART-TREASURE.

grace is in the heart, knoTvledge in the head,
and truth in the memory, the Christian, through
divine assistance, will make good work of every
condition and dispensation. It is both the charac-
ter and the honor of a Christian to meditate on
Grod's law day and night. He that talks much
with his own heart by meditation, and takes fre-
quent turns in Paradise by contemplation, will far
transcend the rate and pace of ordinary Christians.
We are commonly transformed into the dispositions
and manners of those whose company we frequent.
And if we keep company with a holy God by
meditation, we shall be more exactly holy in all
manner of conversation.

II. This treasure of the heart vents itself by the
lips in heavenly communications; and that in a
two-fold manner.

1. A treasured soul discourses profitably with
men. This, I think, is the chief design of the
text ; a bringing forth good things in speaking to
men's edification. A gracious heart freely pours
out holy expressions. ^' The heart of the wise
teacheth his mouth." That inward spring feeds
hese sweet streams, and tips the tongue with
divine rhetoric. • Thy lips, 0 my spouse, drop
as the honey-comb ; honey and milk are under thy
tongue." Not like vain-glorious, empty scholars,
or conceited, formal professors, that have got some

ITS LAYING OUT. 27

scraps of confused notions, then set open the pack,
and expose all to view, but are quickly exhausted ;
no, no, these well-fumished souls have an overflow-
ing treasure of holy matter to produce upon occa-
sion, and can speak a word in season, upon any
subject, to any soul. It is said of Plato and of
Ambrose, that bees swarmed in their cradles, as
presages of their future eloquence. So the honey-
comb of Scripture truths distinguishes the Chris-
tian. His speech is seasoned with salt, because
his heart is seasoned with grace. His discourses,
like honey, at once become salutary, and please
the sanctified auditor. When a well-guided tongue
is the interpreter of a cleansed heart, it is food
and physic to him that improves it; "for the
tongue of the wise is health. '^ The same word in
the Hebrew that signifies tongue, is also used,
joined with another word, to denote a wedge
of gold. Thus, a treasured heart finds a precious
golden tongue ; and nothing can be more cordial
to the fainting heart, than the fruit of such choice
lips.

2. This treasure is exercised in religious duties
and holy performances. The root of grace in the
heart brings forth these fruits of the lips in prayer
and praise. The spirit of prayer sends up to hea-
ven this divine incense. He that hath this lively
liturgy in his heart, needs not to be prompted by

28 HEART-TREASURE.

men; the Spirit can help both to affections and
expressions. A treasured soul hath a stock of pray-
ers, as an able minister hath a stock of sermons,
though he may be without a stock of written
notes; I mean the body of divinity in his head,
which makes a ready scribe. The more treasure a
soul hath within, the more ready will it be to
every good work, and the more raised to Grod in
the work. And such a one is helped very much
against distractions, the great complaint of pious
souls. He that hath store of gold and silver in
his pocket, and but a few brass farthings, will
more readily, upon every draught, come out with
the former, than with the latter. So he whose
heart is stocked with holy thoughts, will not find
carnal cogitations so rife and frequent. If the
heart have indited a good matter, the tongue will
be as the pen of a ready writer. If the heart be
filled with grace, it will make melody to the Lord,
and music to good men. A treasured soul is ready
to trade with God in duty. Yet take this caution :
a true Christian, though having a large measure
of habitual grace, is not always in an equal actual
capacity for duty. David's heart may need tuning
as well as his harp. The key of this treasure may
be lost or rusted. Hence the treasure of that maia
after God's own heart was locked up, in a great
measure, for the space of nine months, till God

ITS LAYING OUT. 29

sent the key by Nathan to open t\e sliU2c of
repentance, and draw out the streams of grace.

III. The treasure in the heart is also drawn
out by the hands, in works of piety towards God
charity to men, and sobriety with respect to our-
selves. It is not enough for the believer to have
the axe laid to the root of the tree, in sound
conviction and gospel humiliation ; but he is to
bring forth fruits meet for repentance, in a gospel
conversation. We must not only believe with the
heart, and confess with the mouth, but faith must
work by love ; upward towards God, by the obe-
dience of faith ; inward in the heart, by purifying
it ; and downward towards men, by doing good
unto all, but especially to the household of faith.
Here is a large field for my pen, and for the Chris-
tian's hand; but a few general remarks must at
present suffice. The furnished Christian is unre-
served in his obedience. He shuns not the hardest
and most hazardous duties ; he will not serve God
with that which costs him nothing : and this is
a grand discriminating characteristic betwixt a
treasured saint, and a treasureless hypocrite. A
carnal man loves a cheap religion, and is loth to
be at any cost or pains for God, in the way of
commanded duty. But very different is it with a
child of God. The more spiritual a duty is, and
the more opposite it is to carnal ease and profit,
3*

30 HEART-TREABURE.

the more freely does he close with it. He is will-
ing to cut oflF the right hand of a beloved lust ; to
pray for enemies ; to forgive wrongs ; to distribute
to the needy ; knowing that all these are essential
parts of our holy religion. When, therefore, the
heart is full of grace, the hands, Dorcas-like, will
be full of good works, which are called ^' fruits of
righteousness.'' It is the Christian's duty and
dignity to be fruitful in every good work, which
cannot proceed from any other root than this
heart-treasure. A willing heart will find a liberal
hand to relieve the poor. The merchandise of
penitent Tyre is treasured up for the supply of
God's holy ones. The liberal soul devises liberal
things, and will not make use of carnal reasonings,
such as danger of poverty, unworthiness of the
poor, hardness of the times, and the like, which
the prophet calls ^* the instruments of the churl ;"
but the largeness of a saint's inward treasure will
lead him carefully to seek, and thankfully to em-
brace objects and occasions of charity. In some
cases, he will even go beyond his power, whereby
the freeness of his heart enhances the mite into
a pound, in true worth, and in God's account.
Thus the readiness of the heart compensates the
weakness of the hand.

A treasured saint hath no stint of desires and
endeavors in his labors for God, and the good-will

ITS LAYING OUT. 31

of his heart adds new vigor to his fainting hand.
Naturalists observe, that when the heart inclines
more to the right side, the spirits are more lively
and apt for contemplation and action. Hence that
saying of Solomon. " A wise man's heart is at his
right hand.'^ I am sure that when a Christian's
heart leaneth God-wards, his hand is full of
activity in the ways of God, and in works of god-
liness. When the soul is filled with grace, the
hand is fitted for acts of religion.

IV. This inward heart-treasure greatly assists
the Christian in bearing his burdens. The time
of affliction is a spending time. If there be any
grace within, tribulation will draw it out. Hence
it is said to work patience; not that it creates
what was not in the soul before, but calls
forth and evinces that which before lay hidden
there. The fiery furnace will try and improve the
souFs spiritual strength; for if it^ faint in the day
of adversity, its strength is small, and its treasure
poor. Now shall it be clearly known, whether
the conscience be sound, or whether it will foun-
der; whether it will move well or ill in rough
ways. In the Kevelation of St. John, when men-
tion is made of Antichrist's tyranny and ruin,
twice is it said, " Here is the patience and faith
of the saints ;" that is, here is the trial of it, here
is room for it, here is the root and fruit of it, even

32 HEART-TREASURE.

the overthrow of Antichrist, for which they have
been so long waiting and praying. This is surely
a glorious sight worth beholding, — Rome flaming,
saints triumphing. Yet, in the mean time, they
have need of faith and patience. For immediately
before both these passages, we have a description
of Rome's rage. The Devil will come down with
the greater wrath when he hath a shorter time ;
and the last bitings of this dying Beast will be
the fiercest; which will bring forth all the saint's
graces, — and all littlo enough for the time of trial.
"VVe have great need of patience after we have
done God's will, that we may also endure His
will, till His promises be performed. We must
buckle on the armor of God, that we may be able
to withstand in an evil day ; and having done and
endured all, to stand on the field as conquerors.
In personal conflicts, all our stock of sufi"ering
graces may be put to it Poverty will try our
faith; disgrace our self-denial; sickness our pa-
tience ; delay in the answer of prayers for a long
expected mercy will try our hope, — and all these
graces must have their perfect work, that the
Christian also may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing. He should have the whole panoply of
a Christian ; the complete accomplishments of a
saint; every grace in its height and due propor-
tion. Job, David, Eli, and Hezekiah had laid in

ITS LAYING OUT. 33

a large stock of suffering graces, and they found
enough to do with them in affliction ; they had no
more than they needed. Love bears and breaks
through all things ; faith holds up the head and
heart above discouragements- Nature hath fur-
nished the camel with a back fitted to bear huge
burdens, and a tractable bowing of his knees to
the ground, that he may be the more readily
loaded. So will the well-taught and accomplished
saint meekly stoop to take up, and cheerfully carry
Christ's cross, during His pleasure. He is a
sound-hearted Christian indeed, who, like the
nightingale, can sing most sweetly when the thorn
is at his breast ; and whose graces are like spices,
which, the more they are bruised, send forth the
richer odor. But a carnal man, wanting this
treasure of grace, kicks at, yea, kicks off, his
burden. It is true that, from strength of natural
temper, or from acquired magnanimity, a man may
possibly sustain his infirmity, and not s'lccumb
under the pressure of outward sorrow. Yet there
is a vast difference between a gracious and a grace-
less heart in enduring afflictions, both as to their
carriage under them, and the benefit which they
derive from them. This difference is strikingly
described in the following passage from Augus-
tine. " In similar sufferings, there is a great dis-
similarity of Bufferers ; aad though thej are sub-

34 HEART-TREASURE.

jected to the same trial, yet is there not the same
virtue and vice ; as under one fire gold brightens,
chaff smokes, and under the same flail stubble is
crushed, corn purged. Thus also the lees mingle
not with the oil, though pressed together. In
like manner, one and the same onset proves, puri-
fies, and sweetly melts the good, but condemns,
wastes, roots out the bad. Hence in the same
affliction the wicked hate and blaspheme God,
while the good pray and praise. Of so much im-
portance is it, not what a man suffers, but with
what spirit he suffers ; for,, with the same stirring,
mud smells abominably, and ointment most frar*
grantly.^'*

♦ Augustine, City of God, Book I. ch. 8^ p. IC.

CHAPTER V.

NECESSITY OF THIS TREASURE.

"We come now to the confirmation of this doc-
trine, That a good treasure in the heart is neces-
sary to a good expenditure in the life.

The first proof of this may be taken from nature
and reason, which furnish us with these undoubted
maxims : That a thing must first be, before it can
act. Nothing can give what it hath not. Such as
the cause is, such are the effects. Of nothing,
nothing can be made, without a miracle of creation ;
and we cannot expect to be fed by miracles where
ordinary means are provided, and supposed to be
used. If we wilfully neglect to lay in provision,
while we have a season for it, we are guilty of
groundless presumption in hoping to lay out in the
time of need. How can any expect liquor from
the still, meat from the cupboard, garments from
the wardrobe, where none of these were laid in ?
What madman would think to reap without sowing,
or to teach others when he has no learning himself ?
Was there ever a bringing forth without a concep-
tion? Is it not fond dotage in a shop-keeper to

(35)

36 HEART-TREASURE.

think to sell wares when he has none ? And is
this preposterous in natural things, and can it hold
in spiritual ? Joseph could not supply the coun-
try with corn without a store. A tree cannot
bring forth good fruit, except it be good. '' Can a
fig-tree bear olive-berries, or a vine figs ?'' And
can we think that men can act graciously without
a principle of grace ?

Another reason is drawn from the offices of
Christ. The Second Person in the sacred Trinity
was filled with treasure, that He might fill the
saints with a treasure of grace. " In Him are hid
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
" For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the God-
head bodily." And for this very end hath Grod
stored Christ, that He might supply His members ;
"that of His fullness, we may receive, and grace for
grace." " The plain, simple sense of which text,"
says Calvin, " is, that what graces God heaps upon
us, they all flow from this fountain ; therefore are
we watered with the graces that are poured upon
Christ." For this, it should be observed, is the
nature of the gospel dispensation ; that whatever
spiritual good things the saints receive, they re-
ceive them not now from God as Creator, so much
as through the hands of Jesus Christ, the great
Mediator of the new covenant. He is the fountain
and the channel of all the grace which our souls

ITS NECESSITY. 37

can expect or receive. He is our Aaron anointed
above His fellows, that the oil of grace might in its
proportion fall from the Head to the members.
Hence it is that He is called Christ, and we Chris-
tians, from this holy unction. For this end was
the Lord Jesus advanced to be the Head of the
church, that He might fill it with all gracious sup-
plies; and hence it is that the church is called
" His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in
all ;'' that is, the effect of Christ's fullness, who
filleth all the saints, in all ordinances and means
of conveyance of gracious influences. The begin-
ning of grace is from Him; the growth and
strength of grace are from Him ; its essence and
its abundance are both bestowed by Him. '^ I am
come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly." So then we see
Christ is designed to be our Joseph, to furnish our
souls with a treasure ; and, therefore, he that ne-
glects to stock his heart from this storehouse, un-
dervalues the great office of Christ, and does
what he can to frustrate the object of God,
in the soul's supply. This is horrible ingratitude.
A third reason is drawn from the end and de-
sign of all providences and ordinances. They are
given to be helps to promote this heart- treasure.
God puts a price into our hands, that we may have
grace in our hearts. He gives us a summer season
4

38 HEART-TREASURE.

to lay up for this pinching winter. Naturalists
say, that while the halcyon sitteth on her nest,
there is calmness and serenity upon the sea. Such
days of tranquillity and gospel opportunities have
we enjoyed in this tempestuous sea of the world,
not to feather our nests below, much less to hatch
the cockatrice eggs of sin ; but to warm and ripen
the brood of grace in our souls, and to lay up a
precious treasure for the evil days of old age, sick-
ness, or persecution, and for the long day of eter-
nity. When God affords a season, He expects
things should be done in that season ; and if man
neglect it, his misery will be great upon him. The
very ant lays up for winter, and reads a lecture to
man of good husbandry. Gathering in summer is
a token of wisdom, but sleeping in harvest is a
sinful, shameful, beggaring practice. God expects
that we should work in the light, and walk in the
day, while this day of grace lasts. It is a sad and
astonishing thing, that God should hold men a
candle for them to play by ; especially when time
is short and uncertain — death and eternity so near,
and of such vast consequence. 0 what a confound-
ing question will that be one day — ^' Wherefore is
there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom,
seeing he hath no heart to it ?" God takes a strict
account of our helps and of our hoard, and expects
a due proportion. 0 what a sad reckoning will

ITS NECESSITY. iJd

many make; whose negligence will be condemned
by the diligence of brute creatures, yea, by the
light of their own consciences !

Another reason is taken from our heart's natural
emptiness of a treasure of good. ^^ In me," says
Paul, " that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good
thing." This barren soil has the more need to be
manured, this empty house to be well furnished ]
lest the heart still continue destitute of all saving
good, and the soul depart out of this world as
naked of saving grace as it entered. "What a pity
it is that so costly a house should stand empty of
inhabitant and furniture ! The souls of God's
people are vessels that are to be well fraught with
all saving graces, that they may be fitted for, and
filled with, eternal glory. The Christian is to be
holily covetous of these riches of glory, that
amends may be made for his natural vacuity. O
the vast chaos of an unregenerate heart ! A long
time and great pains must go to the replenishing
of it. There are many waste corners to be filled,
even after the truth of grace is planted, before the
soul can be enlarged to a due capacity for service
here, and for heaven hereafter. ^^The soul of a
believer," says Goodwin, ^^is a house well built;
where faith lays the foundation, hope helps up the
walls, knowledge sets open the windows, and love
covers the roof; and this makes a dwelling fit for

40 HEART-TREASURE.

Christ.'' And I add, there must be every day a
sweeping, and watching, and decking of this house,
with further degrees of grace j embellishing it
with divine ornaments, and furnishing every room,
I mean evei-y faculty, with a rich treasure of
heavenly blessings. It will be some cost and toil
to hang every room of the heart with lively pic-
tures of the Divine image; for it is altogether
empty of that which is truly and spiritually good,
or may be called a treasure.

But this is not all, for the soul is by nature filled
with an evil treasure. ^' The heart is desperately
wicked.'' " Every imagination of the thoughts of
man's heart is only evil continually." The mind,
will, and affections, are stuffed with a world of
blindness, hardness, and wildness. The soul is
naturally prone to evil, averse to good; and, there-
fore, a treasure of good is necessary, to outweigh
and exclude this treasure of wickedness — to season
and prepare the soul for God, as sin did for Satan.
The love of God is to be shed abroad into those
veins and channels of the heart where sin now runs
with so violent a current. The Christian is to be
sanctified in the most polluted part. And surely
it is not a little grace that will obstruct the active
movements of sin ; for though grace be of greater
worth, yet it is disputable whether, in this life, it
attain to greater strength than corruption, even in

ITS NECESSITY. 41

the hearts of the sanctified. But certainly, the
greater the measure of grace and treasure of sancti-
fying truths, the more power will there be against
corruption. The whole armor of God — which is
also the saint's treasure — resists inward lusts and
Satan's assaults. The Spirit is compared in Scrip-
ture to wind; and some have called the winds,
" the besoms of the world," because they serve to
sweep the air and the earth clean from infectious
vapors. But I am sure, the Spirit of grace with
the fruits thereof, are choice besoms to sweep the
filth of sin out of the soul, and also to adorn it
with divine jewels, and assist it with notable anti-
dotes against corruption. These are as water to
wash the heart from filthiness. The smallest
measure of their influence helps against sin ; but
the more grace, the less sin in the heart. Grace
is a principle of life, and opposes dead works,
which otherwise would lead the soul to the cham-
bers of death. This treasure is, therefore, of abso-
lute necessity ; and the same might we say of the
word, which being hid in the heart, helps against
sin in the life.

Another reason is taken from the inbred motions
of human nature. All men on earth seek after a
treasure. It is the harmonious inquest of all ra-
tional creatures, '' Who will show us any good," —
anything to make a treasure of? Man has a capa-
4*

42 HEART-TREASUEE.

cious soul, an active and laborious spirit. The
whole world is not a morsel big enough for his
rapacious swallow. '' Our covetous desires/^ says
one, ^^are a long sentence without a period."
Finite things are dry meat to a hungry soul.
They sooner glut than fill. Nay, they lure on this
busy bee to buzz about one flower after another,
till it hath wearied itself in vain, and sits down in
utter despair of comfort and satisfaction. Nothing
but interest in the God of heaven, and the image
of the God of heaven, can fill up all defects. A
Christ alone to justify, and a Christ within to
sanctify, make the soul completely happy; for
Christ within is " the hope of glory.'' A glorified
and a gracious Redeemer is the Christian's only
treasure — his all in all. God hath furnished man
with an immortal soul ; learning may expand it,
but grace fills it : nothing else will reach its large
dimensions. Man is a little world himself, more
precious than this greater world in which he
dwells — by Christ's own verdict, who is truth it-
self. The soul itself is better than the world,
and it must have something better than itself
to be a treasure for it. Philosophy seeks, —
Christianity shows, — the sound believer only finds
true happiness, which, like . a wise merchant,
he has fetched out of the field of the Gospel
into the cabinet of his own heart.

ITS NECESSITY. 43

Further, whatsoever men have or love, they de-
sire a treasure thereof. No man but would hav^e a
large treasure of a precious commodity. He that
hath gold and silver would heap it up to a treasure.
He that hath wisdom and learning would still have
more. Men join house to house, and field to field,
to procure for themselves and their heirs a fair
domain, a large estate. How many rich men are
still as eager for more as if they had not enough to
purchase a single meal ! Yet these seek for earth,
as if abundance thereof would purchase heaven.
Like the partridge, they sit close on these eggs,
though they hatch them not, nor are ever likely to
bring them to their desired maturity. 0 the un-
hallowed thirst after filthy lucre ! Many think to
fill their souls with wealth, whereas they cannot
fill one of the least members of their body, the
eye, which yet a nut shell will cover. The
world at the best is like Pasotes' banquet, which,
when the guests began to eat, vanished into
nothing. Shall so many men set their eyes, and
hearts too, on that which is not; and shall not
God's children make a treasure of that which is
enduring substance? Shall men think to make a
treasure of coals, and chaff, and empty shadows;
and shall not the Christian gather store of pearls
and jewels for his treasure? Shall the children
of the world be more wise and wary for earth, than

44 HEART-TREASURE.

the children of light for heaven ? God forbid.
Surely the Christian has as great reason to heap
up as any; the commodities which he seeks are
more rare, rich, and necessary than any other; and
why then should he not get a heart-treasure ? Let
these reasons both convince the judgment and
sway the affections. They furnish clear and pow-
erful motives to the earnest pursuit of spiritual
riches.

Moreover, this heart-treasure, and this only, dis-
criminates between persons and persons. My
meaning is, that this puts a difference between
saints and sinners, between weak and strong Chris-
tians. As the treasure in the heart is, so is every
man's state. " For as he thinketh in his heart, so is
he :" not as he speaks with his lips. Formalists will
speak God as fair as any ; they honor Him with
their lips, and flatter Him with false and fawning
attentions, as though He were an idol. But the
heart-searching God is not pleased, except the
heart be upright with Him. It is the upright in
whom He delights ; not in a person merely as he
acts with his hands, or walks with his feet, in
many passages of his life. A man may, with
Ahab, walk softly — with Herod, do many things —
with Simon Magus, make large profession of faith ;
yea, it is possible a man may suffer many troubles,
and even death itself, in a good cause ; yet unless

ITS NECESSITY. 45

he have a heart treasured ^ith grace, he is rejected,
and may go to hell at last. God judges of the
fruits by the root; though men judge of the root
by the fruits. ' A heart after His own heart is bet-
ter than the tongue of men or of angels. The
distinction of persons has respect to internal prin-
ciples and workings. A good man may sometimes
do an evil work, and a bad man may do a good
work ; but how are their hearts ? The best con-
ferences or performances are not current coin with
the God of heaven, except they issue out of the
mint of a heart where God's image is stamped. A
little good is accounted much when there is a trea-
sure within ; much seeming good is looked on as
nothing when there is no treasure. This also
makes the difference between a strong and weak
Christian. Let their gifts and outward seemings
be what they will, yet the greater or lesser degree
of real grace distinguishes their attainments; and,
accordingly, these measures have different influ-
ences upon their lives, duties, comforts, and pre-
paredness for death.

Again, this treasure assimilates the soul to God.
The great Jehovah is the only self-existent and
self-sufl&cient good. He is an absolute, complete,
and independent Being, and needs no accession of
creatures or created powers to make Him happy.
Nothing can add to, or detract from, His infinite

4G HEART-TREASURE.

and incomprcliensible blessedness. He is a trea-
sure of all good, in and to Himself, and needs
neither gold nor silver to enrich Him. Parallel to
this, in some proportion, is the saint's sweet and
Becret treasure, garnered in the solitary recesses of
his heart. The Christian is a little world, and is
purely independent upon the creature for his hap-
piness. He can, through grace, live comfortably
without the world, though not without God; yea,
God is so much in him, as well as to him, that,
with His presence, he can live comfortably when
other things are dead. ^' The backslider in heart
shall be filled with his own ways ; and a good
man shall be satisfied from himself;" that is,
he shall have sufl&cient content from his own
conscience. There is, in the original, but one
word here for a backslider being, filled with
his ways of sin and guilt, and a gracious soul's
satisfaction from the sweet result of his own heart;
thus showing that a man's own conscience is either
his heaven or hell, his greatest comforter or tormen-
tor. The world cannot alter the joy or sadness of
the heart. A thorough, well tried child of God
hath his rejoicing in himself alone, and not in
another. It is a peddling, beggarly life to wander
abroad for morsels ; but that is a noble kind of
living, when a man hath all within doors, and
needs not the sorry contributions of the creatures.

ITS NECESSITY. 47

I speak not of the fancied deification of the Fami-
lists, which is nothing less than blasphemy ; but
certainly the sound Christian, in a sound sense,
bears some resemblance to the Divinity in this
self-sufficiency : and the more treasure he has, the
more is he like God ; for such a soul is elevated
above the creature, and placed in a higher orbit,
which storms and tempests cannot reach. Nay, a
soul whose conversation is in heaven, hath no de-
pendence upon, nor intercourse with the creature,
in order to complete his felicity ; no more than the
sun needs the glimmering light of the stars to
make day. I might also add, that herein is the
Christian's resemblance to the infinite Jehovah,
because he has a principle of motion within him-
self, and not from without; for as God is a free
Agent — as He himself is the sole cause of His own
actions — so in a sense do the saints act from an
inward principle. Hence those Scripture expres-
sions, of a man's spirit making him willing ; and of
the heart smiting a man, or witnessing for him, or
with him. Wicked men are dead ; but grace is a
principle of life, and resembles the Author of it:
" for that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.''
The decayed liberty of the will is in part restored
by grace; and so far as the soul is spiritual, the
soul of a saint is a flame of fire ascending to and
acting for God; and the greater treasure of this

48 HEART-TREASURE.

heavenly element which a man has in his breast,
the more he resembles God.

The final argument, to evince the necessity of
this heart-treasure, is drawn from the profit and
advantage of having it; and that principally in
facilitating the most arduous duties of religion, and
furnishing the soul for every good work. And
here I shall keep close to the treasure of holy
thoughts, fed with those four streams of truths,
graces, comforts, and experiences ; and constituting
not only a saving principle, but such a measure
thereof as will make up a treasure.

Now the frame of a treasured soul for duty is
ready, sincere, uniform, and perpetual.

A treasured heart is ready for duty. Like a
well stored housekeeper, you cannot take him
unprovided. He is like a well accomplished
scholar, that is never at ftiult, or a watchful sol-
dier, that is always fit for service. The Christian
has prepared materials to build the house, and
wants nothing but its setting up in actual perform-
ance; yea, the house is built and furnished, in
some degree, for the entertainment of its royal
Occupant. ^'Let my Beloved come into His gar-
den, and eat His pleasant fruits." The bow is
Btrung, the heart is fixed ; the fire is glowing in
the embers upon the hearth ; and one blast of the
Spirit'g breathing heightens it to a flame. Yot

ITS NECESSITY. 49

suppose the heart be not in actual readiness, still
habits are sooner educed into act than new habits
infused ; and this the foolish virgins knew by sad
experience.

But observe, the more there is of this treasure,
the greater will be the readiness for duty. The
reason why we are not more free in prayer, con-
ference, and meditation, is because wc arc not more
filled with grace; otherwise gracious acts would
flow from us as naturally as streams from the spring.
Had we a sufiicient treasure of piety, wc should
never want suitable matter, and lively affections.
"We should not need to force ourselves to offer sac-
rifice, nor have to bind it with main strength to the
horns of the altar; but we should enter upon
every service freely, cheerfully, delighting in God's
ways as in our proper element, and running with
enlarged hearts. The holy angels, and the glori-
fied spirits of the just made perfect, have a perfect
trciisure of divine faculties, and are therefore ever
prepared to do God's will. Now we pray that
God's ''will may be done on earth, as it is in
heaven;*' yet this can never be, till this living
treasure fill our hearts. But 0 how quickly shall
we hear a command, and how swiftly shall we obey
it, if we have this treasure ! A good soul is like
the centurion's servant — half a vrord will make
him run. When God said to David, " Seek my
5

50 ITEART-TREARTTRE,

face," Lis heart quickly echoed, " Thy face, Liml,
will I seek/' God's warrant carried the force of
an argument. The ready Christian needs no per-
suading when he knows his Master's pleasure.
This is one choice advantage of having a treasure,
A treasured soul is sincere and serious; not
hypocritical and forced. Israel of old made cove-
nants, and seemed very religious ; and God him-
self attested that they had well spoken ; hut adds,
" 0 that there were such a heart in them !" To
the same effect is that strange passage in Jeremiah.
''Though they say, the Lord liveth, surely they
swear falsely." Why, is not that a truth ? Yes,
a great truth. God alone is the living God ; hut
when they say so, their heart gives the lie to their
lips. They say it with a deceitful heart, and that
they may deceive. Though it he a truth in itself,
yet they speak it not as a truth, wanting all heart
to assert it. It is but a fond and frolic ostentation
to invite a friend to dinner, when nothing is pre-
pared. It is a mocking of God to bring Cain's
sacrifice, a body without a heart, a carcase without
a spirit. It is as if a Jew had brought the skin
of a beast for sacrifice, and no more. But where
there is a treasure in the heart, there the essentials
of the service are made up; the work is complete
before God; that is, it is not lame or defective in
any important and vital part. It is such as may

ITS NECESSITY. 51

be truly called a real good work. This is the
chief thing that God expects ; and if a good heart
be wanting, the work is still undone. But a sin-
cere Christian finds his prayer in his heart, which
he utters with his lips. "Thy servant hath found
in his heart to pray this prayer." He found it
not only in his book, but in his heart. He
drew his prayer from his treasure. Such a man
will pray a prayer, as David did, and not only say
a prayer. What cares God for a little lip-labor.
He may say, '' Who required these things at your
hand ? Did I did not require them of your hearts ?
A mock feast or fast will not content me ; I shall
not be put off with an empty show : I will have
your hearts, or nothing; and I must have a treasure
in your hearts, or all you bring is worth nothing.''
The truth is, God takes principal notice of the
heart, and observes how that stands affected. If
idols be set up in the heart, God gives no heed to a
people's prayers. There is, therefore, the utmost
need that we look to the frame of the heart.

A heart-treasure makes the Christian uniform,
and without reserve, in the duties of religion. He
takes the religion of the Bible as it is, and meets
its obligations without halting or halving. He
practices all righteousness at all times. There is a
sweet harmony and exact symmetry in his per-
formance of duty. Some can perform easy duties,

52 HEART-TREASURE.

not the more difficult ; but the treasured believer
can go through with any thing which God in the
word hath made his duty ; and hence it is, that he
is " complete in all the will of Grod/^ The law of
God in his heart corresponds to every part of His
will in the written word. Graces and duties are
concordant one to another. They are like " a
company of horses in Pharaoh's chariot — their
cheeks comely with rows of jewels, their necks with
chains of gold ;" that is, the soul of a believer is
handsomely adorned with a comely train of graces
and duties. Such a person will at all times act
like himself, so that one part of his life will not
cross another, as a liar's tales and a hj^pocrite's
conduct do. He serves not God by fits and starts,
in good moods and motions, so as to be off and on
in religion; but he has a constant, settled spirit;
'^ a right spirit," such as David prayed for, — a
spirit disposed for God, fitted for duty, and bring-
ing forth good fruit in due season ; like a skillful
housekeeper, that is never so suddenly surprised,
but he can make a prudent shift to treat his friend
according to his degree. Man, in his fallen state,
is uncertain, intricate, and multiform in all his
principles and actions. You cannot tell where to
find him, amidst his restless "gadding about to
change his way." But being renewed, he is in
part, and in some proportion, restored to that

ITS NECESSITY. 53

original rectitude, simplicity, and stability of tem-
per and practice that dwelt in Adam before his
fall ', so that according to the degree of grace re-
ceived, he has a constant, uniform frame and tenor
of spirit, and holds one straight, direct, and even
course towards heaven. His character resembles
the motion of the \vheels in Ezekiel's vision.
" When they went, they went upon their four
sides;" indicating their squareness and suitable-
ness to all God's will. " And they returned not
when they went;" thus denoting their constant,
permanent, and unchanging motion. Consider,
too, the excellency and beauty of uniformity in re-
ligious duties. When works of nature or of art
are uniform- what lustre they have ! We are
much taken with a building that is compact and
well proportioned. A garden drawn exactly, — an
army marshalled in complete ranks and postures,
are comely sights. Just such are the fruits of
holiness, proceeding from a well treasured heart.
And iudeed without this treasure there can be no
such harmony in holy performances ; but the act-
ings will be like the legs of the lame, very unequal.
A treasure in the heart will make holy duties
constant and perpetual. Though there may be
some temporary intermissions, there will never be
a total cessation, in the acts of religion. Will a
hypocrite pray always? No, verily. The water

54 HEART-TREASURE.

rises no higher than the spring, and waters fail
that have no spring, like Job's snow-water, which,
when it waxed warm, vanished away. But a little
brook supplied with a constant spring holds out in
winter and summer. Even such is the difference
between the performances of a treasured and a
a treasureless heart. Two men perform duties,
the one from gifts, the other from grace ; the former
in time withers, the latter daily increases. The
king of France showed the ambassador of Spain
his rich treasures : the ambassador looking under
the treasure chests, said, " Have these a spring ? —
my master's treasures have:" meaning both the
Indies. Just so is it here. Let the attainments
of unregencrate men be ever so excellent, you may
come to see an end of all their perfection. Their
eye of knowledge may be darkened, and their arm
of natural and acquired abilities clean dried up.
For how can a well be always giving out water
that receives none? IIow can a rose keep its
freshness without a root ? But they that are
'^planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish
in the courts of our God; they shall still bring
forth fruit in old age." The seed of God is a
lively principle, that will never die; and this
spring of grace is fed with supplies from the full-
ness of Jesus Christ, who is the fountain of gar-
dens, and well of living waters. Hence He saith,

ITS NECESSITY. 55

*' He that bclievcth on me, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water," That is, he shall
have a perpetual supply of grace, and shall send
forth constant emanations of gracious acts. A
well furnished Christian can never be drawn dry.
His Saviour and his treasure ever live, and because
Christ lives, the saints and their graces shall live
for ever. 0 friends ! what would you give in
these backsliding times to hold out to the end, that
you may not make shipwreck of faith and a good
conscience ? Behold, I show unto you an excel-
lent way. Heap one grace upon another, till you
possess a treasure. Tie a chain of these pearls
together, and lay them up in the closet of your
hearts, and you will never be spiritually impover-
ished- Be holily covetous after all graces that are
attainable. Add to your faith virtue, knowledge,
temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness,
charity; for if you have these, jou will not be
barren or unfruitful in duties, and if you perform
duties according to these, you shall never falL
These form a chain that links the soul to Qod, and
reaches as high as heaven. But do not think that
you can endure to the end without such a treasure;
for he that " hath not root in himself, dureth but
for a while." 'No wonder if many drop off like
leaves in autumn ; they have nothing to bear them
out. They draw only from themselves, like the

56 HEART-TREASURE.

spider, which spins her webs out of her owd
bowels, and they are swept away as the spider's
web. But the gracious soul has no less than an
infinite God to supply the treasures of grace ; so
that let a Christian fall off to many acts of sin,
carelessness in duty, and a course of grievous de-
clension, yet this treasure will ultimately reclaim
him. As a spring clears itself from mud in time,
so he shall be brought back to God. There is
something in the heart of a backsliding saint that
makes him restless in that state, and ever yearning
to return to his forsaken Saviour. Of this we have
a strong example in the feelings which David ex-
presses in view of his deep and mournful fall. " I
have gone astray like a lost sheep;" is his ac-
knowledgment: "seek thy servant/' is his re-
quest : " for I do not forget thy commandments;"
is the argument by which he enforces it. As if
he had said. There is yet something in my heart
that owns Thee ; though I be fallen far, yet not so
far but that I am still reaching after Thee, and I
am not fallen below Thy reach. The truth is, a
child of God has more hold of God, even in his
lowest ebbs, than another sinner. As the spinner
leaves a lock of wool to draw on the next thread,.
BO there is left in the heart the seed of God, that
springs heaven-ward. Though a saint be in a very
dead frame, yet he is not twice dead^ as wicked

ITS NECESSITY. 57

men are. There is yet the root of the matter in
the heart, that by the scent of water — by the
heavenly dew of divine grace — will sprout again,
and bring forth fruit. I attempt not to say how
far men may fall, and whether a true saint may
not be brought back to the bare principles of
grace as they were at first infused, and lose de-
grees of grace obtained. ]>ut sure I am that
Christ prayed for Peter — and so for all believers —
that his faith might not fail; and Him God al-
ways hears. I am, therefore, firmly persuaded,
that the seed of regeneration, with those funda-
mental gifts, without which spiritual life cannot
subsist, is kept safe and entire; for the same Holy
Ghost that infused that seed, has imparted to it an
incorruptible virtue, and perpetually cherishes and
maintains it. Mary's better part shall not be
taken away. The fear of God, implanted in the
hearts of believers, keeps them from fatally de-
parting from God. They have constancy in their
hearts, and perseverance in their hands. Holy
resolutions produce successful performances; and
thus does the treasured Christian hold on in a
Christian course, till these smaller measures of
grace end in the vast ocean of glory.

CHAPTER VI.

SELF-EXAMINATION RELATIVE TO THIS TREASURE,

Let us now proceed to apply the foregoing
truths more closely to our own souls. Is it so,
that a good treasure in the heart, is necessary to a
good expenditure in the life ? Then it stands us
all in hand to try ourselves, and to dig deep into
our own hearts, to see if we can find a treasure
there, with respect both to sincerity and degree of
grace. 0 be assured that you are beggarly souls
unless you have real grace ! Graceless souls are
the only treasureless souls ; and I fear there are
more than a good many, that could never experi-
mentally distinguish between nature and grace,
and therefore are increasing guilt, and heaping
up wrath. 0 Christians ! see whether you have
the true riches. Try what proficiency you have
made for grace, and in grace. You have long had
a day of grace, and you must be accountable for
all opportunities. Cheat not yourselves with coun-
ters instead of gold. Bristol-stones may make as
fair a show as pearls. True grace is a rare and
rich commodity. Thousands that are empty, ima-
C58}

SELF-EXAMINATION. 59

gine they have a treasure. Proud, conceited pro-
fessors are apt to boast of their attainmeutSj whilst
Bome contrite, humble souls, are apt to bear false
witness against themselves, by denying what they
have. " There is that maketh himself rich, yet
hath nothing ; there is that maketh himself poor,
yet hath great riches.^' Sounding vessels are often
empty, and still waters are usually deep. Vapor-
ing chapmen jingle their money in their hands,
whilst sober tradesmen keep it in their chests.
You shall find more of a merchant's goods in his
warehouse, than in his shop-window. So it is with
a sober, serious, and judicious Christian. His
glory and treasure are most within ; whilst vain-
glorious mountebanks in religion set all upon the
stage. I entreat you, read those books that lay
down the marks of true grace; hear and attend
the most heart -searching ministry; take much
pains in descending frequently into your own
hearts ; and the God of heaven make you serious
in a thorough search.

To aid you in discovering whether you have
laid up a treasure of holy thoughts, proceeding
from scriptural truths, graces, comforts, and expe-
riences, ask, I beseech you, your own hearts these
four questions — How came you by it ? How do
you value it ? How do you use it ? How do you
increase it ?

60 HEART-TREASURE.

1. Let me ask you, and do you ask yourselves,
if you pretend to such a treasure, How came
you by it ? Men usually know how they get a
treasure. " The hand of the diligent maketh
rich;" that is, through ''the blessing of the
Lord'' upon diligent endeavors. Men that would
be rich ply the oars, run to markets and fairs, tra-
vel from city to city, to " buy and sell, and get
gain." They traverse sea and land, compassing
the world to possess a small portion of it. But
what are you doing in spiritual things ? Where
are your thoughtful cares and painful hands?
Though labor will not get this treasure, — for it is
the gift of God's free grace — yet it will not be
had without labor. God's ordinance must be ho-
nored. It is the immutable decree of Heaven
since the fall— " In the sweat of thy face shalt
thou cat bread." And this holds equally good in
regard to the soul. " Labor for that meat which
endureth to everlasting life, which the Son of Man
shall give unto you." Man's endeavors are wholly
consistent with God's free grace, and Christ's dear
purchase. God will be found in His own way.
He ordinarily conveys the first grace in and by
His own institutions; but seldom will a soul
attain to a treasure, without a long trading in the
royal exchange of holy duties. Diligence hath
the promise of increase. " And unto you that

SELP-EXAMINATION. 61

hear shall more be given/' Has, then, the care
of your hearts put labor into your hands, and tra-
vel into your feet, to repair to the markets and
fairs of public and private ordinances, to get a
solid treasure ? Have you both digged and begged
for it ? Where are your sweat and agony ? Has
Jesus sweat blood to fit you for heaven, and have
you not gone through one earnest struggle to get
an interest in Him, and possession of His grace ?
0 the pangs of conscience, and sad pantings of a
convinced sinner, to obtain a portion in these
riches of grace ! Never did a poor laborer toil so
hard for his day's wages, as an humbled soul to be
filled with Christ. A treasure of money is got
with sweat and toil ; or is obtained from alms,
with weary steps and loud cries : but if thou be
too idle to dig, and too proud to beg, thou art
without a treasure, and mayest pine away in ever-
lasting poverty.

2. How do you value this treasure ? " Where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
A man's thoughts, cares, and afi"ections will centre
upon his treasure; for he accounts his treasure
the best thing he has. No man would willingly
part with his treasui-e. Thus Naboth tenaciously
adhered to his hereditary possession. The wise
merchant in the Gospel parted with all he had to
purchase the ^^ one pearl of great price." Paul
6

62 HEART-TREASURE.

'accounted his gain to be no better tlian loss for
Christ; nay, as mere offal, in comparison with his
sweet and satisfying Saviour. All the world is as
dross to a Christian, when it obstructs or obscures
the grace of Christ. Is it thus with your souls ?
Do you account your spiritual portion your only
riches ? The truth is, the riches of the soul, and
the riches in the soul, are the very soul of riches.
That, I confess, is a meretricious love which prizes
receipts from Christ more than the person of
Christ. But here I understand Jesus Christ to
be the marrow and essence of this treasure, and
all these as ensuring evidences of interest in Him ;
for all that the soul hath is wrapt up in Him.
Well, then, let me question the most dark and
doubting, if sincere. Christian. What sayest thou,
poor soul ? Wouldst thou cjuit thy share in Christ
and spiritual treasures, for a crown and kingdom ?
Wouldst thou not answer. No ? Wouldst thou
cast away thy trembling hope of acceptance with
God, to be delivered from the infiimy, poverty,
and persecution, which sometimes attend the zeal-
ous profession of Christianity, and to live in ho-
nor, pleasure, and worldly delights ? Surely thou
wouldst answer. No. Wouldst thou change thy
present low, afflicted, and conflicting state, for thy
former carnal, but confident condition, or for the
pompous, prosperous state of graceless sinners ?

SELF-EXAMINATION. 63

J dare say thou wilt answer, No. Yet, again, art
thou not willing to part with thy dearest bosom
lust and earthly enjoyment, for a true immortal
treasure in heaven and in thy heart ? I am con-
fident an upright heart will answer. Yes. And if
I mistake not, this, if not only, yet chiefly, is the
very separating point betwixt a sound Christian
and a rotten-hearted hypocrite. The one chooses
Martha's many things; the other Mary's one
thing needful. This is, indeed, a discriminating
mark ; for a gracious soul will cry out, " None but
Christ, none but Christ ; give me Christ, or else I
die ; give me Christ, and I shall live. Christ is
my life, my crown, my joy, my all. If I have
Him, I have enough; without Him I have no-
thing." When one asked Alexander where his
treasure was, he answered, '' Where Hephaestion,
my faithful friend, is." Just so will a pious soul
say — " Christ is the chiefest among ten thousand."
I prize Him above my. life, who loved me unto
death; and I count that of great value which e\i-
dences my interest in Him. As the marigold
opens to the morning beam, so does the heart of a
sincere Christian to the Sun of Righteousness.
Take an instance in Moses, who chose the bitterest
cup of affliction, rather than the sugared cup of
sensual pleasures, that he might enjoy Christ.
Observe the strange disparity that appears to car-

64 HEART-TREASURE.

nal reason in such a choice. On the one side;
there was suffering; on the other, enjoyment. In
the one course of life, the despised people of God
would be his companions ; in the other, the ruffling
gallants of Pharaoh's court. Yet, in the latter
case, it was for a season, and but for a season, and
this hut turned the scale. These, however, were
only pleasures. Let treasures be presented to him,
and they may perhaps prevail. No, no, he esteems
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the
treasures of Egypt. The worst of Christ is better
than the best of the world. The noble Marquis
Caracciolus, being tempted with large offers to de-
part from Zion to Babylon, resolutely replied,
^' Let their money perish with them, that account
all the treasures of the world worth one hour's
communion with Jesus Christ." If all the moun-
tains were gold, the rocks pearls, and the whole
world filled with the sweetest delights of the sons
of men ; and if these were offered to the Christian
to be his proper inheritance for ever, on condition
of his renouncing the Saviour, he would trample
on them, with a holy scorn, and look on them as
not worth one glance of his eye, in comparison
with one taste of the love of Christ, and a grain
of saving grace in his heaven-born soul. But a
carnal heart sees no beauty in Christ, that He
should be so desired, nor is it taken with the

SELF-EXAMINATION. 65

comeliness and excellency of grace. Of this we
have a sad, yet striking example in the hopeful
young man that bade fair for heaven, yet when he
saw it would cost him so dear as to part with all,
he would rather go without it than forego his
estate for it. This is a pinching point I Look
well to it. This one thing, employed for exami-
nation, will pierce betwixt joint and marrow, and
a day of trial will discover what you account a
treasure.

3. How do you use and improve this treasure?
Habits of grace arc no otherwise known than by
their acts. What better is a man for that which
he uses not ? A talent of grace of the right stamp
will not be confined to a napkin, though gifts
may. To manifest sincere grace, is as necessary
and as evidential, as to possess it. Things that
are not, and things that appear not, are both alike.
He is a wicked man that boasts of his heart's de-
sire, and he is a fool that trusts in his heart.
Yet many will say, " I have as good a heart as
the best, though I do not talk so well with my
tongue, or work so much v/ith my hands. I have
as good a meaning as any of them all, though I
cannot make so great a show. I love to keep my
religion to myself. None know how gfx)d I am.'*
It is not denied, but degrees of modesty, fears of
vain-glorj, and jealousies of apostacv, may restraia
6*

66 HEART-TKEASUllir.

some Christians frmii the open and bold avowal of
their principles. Yet there may be a deception
here. Let such know, that where fire is, it will
betray itself, by heat or smoke. It is impossible
that real grace should be hidden or stifled. Though
there be only a smoking flax — even the wick of a
candle, that affords little light and much offensive
smell — yet it will appear. Truths and graces in
the heai't will be^ as the word was to Jeremiah —
" a burning fire shut up in the bones," that can-
not be concealed. lie that is full of matter is con-
strained, by the internal workings of the Spirit,
to vent it; else it is like Elihu's new wine that
hath no vent, and bursts the new bottles. It is as
natural for u gracious heart, so far as it is gracious,
to talk and walk holily, as for a livitig creature to
breathe and move. It cannot be otherwise, and it
must not be otherwise. Your treasure within
ought to be laid out. For what else has it been
given you? Profession with the mouth is as
necessary, in its kind, as believing with the heart.
Our light misst not be " hid under a bushel,'' but;
'^ shine before m«en,'' that it may produce comfort
to ourselves, liave influence upon others, and re-
ceive approbation from the Lord. So, then, if
thou hast a treasure within, thou wilt witness a
good confession, and thy conversation will be suit-
able to thy profession. Thy trading will answer

SELP-EXAMTNATION. 67

to thy stock. The text tells yon, " A good man,
out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth
forth good things/^ And I have shown you that
the manner of laying out this treasure consists
in holy meditations, savory expressions, suitable
actions, patient bearing, and profitable improve-
ment, of afilictions. Now, then, lay judgment to
the line, and compare your own course of life with
these practices of religion. How do you trade
with heaven, and for heaven ? What do you
more than others ? AVhere is the life and power
of religion ? Do you indeed exercise yourselves
to godliness? What large expenses do you lay
out for that God from whom you have such liberal
incomes ? When we see men lay out abundance
of money in household goods, housekeeping, build-
ing, and recreations, we infer that such have a
good stock beforehand, a great yearly revenue.
Thus it is here. Though many make a great
show of what they have not, yet a ready, real,
uniform, and constant performance of duty — a
serious, sensible course of walking with God — the
steadfast exercise of grace in all conditions — give
evidence of a suitable inward treasure. What say
you to these things ? Can our hearts witness for
us, ^' that in simplicity and godly sincerity,'^ by
the assistance of grace, ^' we have had our con-
versation in the world V Can our relations and

68 HEART-TREASURE.

neighbors witness for us, that we have served the
Lord with all humility of mind, with many tears
and temptations ? Can our closets, chambers,
shops, and fields testify our secret groans, medita-
tions, self-examinations ? Have we performed our
relative duties with all care and conscience — as
magistrates, punishing sin — as ministers, faith-
fully preaching at all seasons, suitably to all per-
sons— as householders, instructing, correcting, and
leaving a good example — as husbands, wives, pa-
rents, children, masters, servants? That man is
not good at all, who is not good in all relations.
Does the treasure of grace and truth prompt our
tongues, employ our hands, guide our feet? Do
the doctrines in our heads, and the principles in
our hearts, dictate to us our duty, and assist us in
doing it ? Are we fruitful in good works, words,
and meditations ? And are we useful in our gene-
ration ? Let us not deceive ourselves. It is not
a conceit of some good meanings within, that will
serve our turn. The Apostle tells us roundly and
plainly, ^' He that doeth righteousness is right-
eous." Acts evidence the state, and a man can-
not be good, unless he do good.

4. How do you increase this treasure ? *' To him
that hath shall be given." The reality of grace is
the prologue to growth in grace; and growth in
grace arrives at full strength of grace. The saints

SELF-EXAMINATION. 69

" go from strength to strength, '^ The true Chris-
tian, like his Master, ^'increaseth in wisdom and
stature, and in favor with God and man." These
waters of the sanctuary rise up to the ancles, knees,
loins, neck, till the soul come to the head, Christ —
and so be swallowed up in the unfathomable ocean
of glory. Dwarfs are monstrous in grace, as well
as in nature. It is a sad sign that you have no
grace, if you think you have grace enough. He
was never good that desires not to be better.
They are hypocrites, and sure to be apostates, that
are contented with a taste. The true believer is
insatiate, still hungering and thirsting after right-
eousness ; daily adding one cubit after another to
his spiritual stature, that he may be a tall man in
Christ, and at last attain to the " measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ." Never will he
be satisfied, till he arrives at a full maturity in
knowledge and holiness. What say you to this ?
Are you any better than you have been? Are
your last works more than your first ? "What light
of knowledge in saving truths, what heat and
warmth in sanctifying graces, what heart-refreshing
experiences and comforts have you laid up ? Have
you become more solid, humble, holy, watchful,
faithful, fruitful ? Do you get more power against
your lusts, and more ability to walk with God ?
Do you forget what is behind, and press forward to

70 HEART-TREASURE.

perfection ? Are you stirred up more to holiness,
and strengthened with all might by His Spirit in
the inner man ? Are you still sensible of defects,
craving for more spiritual riches, as a beggar for
alms ? I confess I have sometimes wondered at
this strange paradox in Christianity, that nothing
so fills the soul as grace, and yet nothing makes
tl^p soul so hungry for more grace as a principle
of grace. Nothing contents but a taste of grace,
yet a taste of grace will not content. Believers
desire more knowledge, more faith, more love, and,
accordingly, they are still perfecting holiness in
the fear of God. So that, as the apostle says of
some, their faith groweth exceedingly, and charity
aboundeth even till it become a treasure. For
observe, this spiritual treasure is made up,
and increased by accumulation, — by adding more
graces, or strengthening graces already con-
ferred.

Many good books have been written to satisfy
scrupulous souls in this important particular of
growth in grace. Let such as have doubts of their
own sincerity read them. It would be a digression
here to speak fully to this point. A single obser-
vation must suffice. The more life you have added
to your light; the more humility to your graces;
the more watchfulness to your lives by your expe-
riences; and the more tenderness of conscience,

SELP-EXAMINATION, 71

aud cheeifulness in holy performances by your
comforts ; — the more have you grown in grace and
increased your treaS'Ures ; and thereby have given
a clearer evidence that you have indeed a spiritual
treasure in your hearts.

CHAPTER VII.

NEGLECT OP HEART-TREASURE REPROVED.

If it be so Decessary to have a treasure withio;,
that the Christian may be fitter to walk, speak, and
act holily, then this falls with weight upon the
head of four sorts of persons, namely — careless
loiterers, vain-glorious boasters, impious offenders,
and unprofitable Christians.

1. It admonishes careless loiterers, that sleep out
the fair summer day of grace, and forget the day
of their visitation. Many ministers have cause to
weep over their people, as Christ did over Jerusa-
lem, and say, *' If thou hadst known, at least in
this thy day, the things which belong to thy
pf-itce ! but now they are hid from thine eyes.'^
If any are without grace, amidst precious means
of grace, let such tremble lest the misimprovement
of ordinances end in the loss of them. If thou
hast sat under the droppings of the sanctuary, and
art yet barren, be afraid, lest God either command
the clouds to rain no rain upon thee, or the curse
of the barren fig-tree be pronounced against thee, —
*' Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever/'
(72)

NEGLECT OF IT REPROVED. 73

or else, "cut it down, why cumbcreth it the
ground V 0 have your souls been till now empty
of grace, amidst ordinances which are the channels
of grace ? Have you lived thus long in Goshen,
and are you yet in Egyptian darkness ? Where is
the fault? What can you say for yourselves?
Suppose God should put you to it, to bring forth
your strong reasons, as he expostulated with the
man that wanted the wedding garment, — and
should say, " Friend, where hast thou lived ? In
my Church ? And didst thou not there hear of a
rich wardrobe provided for naked souls, even the
fine white linen of Christ's perfect righteousness ?
Was there not a well-furnished shop and storehouse
of the gifts and graces of my Spirit to fill and
adorn the house of thy heart? How comes it,
then, that thou art so destitute of what is good ?
Hadst thou lived in Turkey or India, where I did
not set up such an office of mercy, thou mightest
have more to say ] but now what apologies canst
thou make? What fig-leaves canst thou find to
cover thy shameful nakedness, or palliate thy
wretched negligence? How camest thou hither?
What canst thou say to excuse thy brazen impu-
dence, that darest approach such a presence in so
sordid a habit, or rather miserably naked V
Though witty sinners can find shifts enough to put
off" the appeals of ministers, and silence the clamors
7

74 HEART-TREASURE.

of conscience, yet how can their hearts endure, or
their hands be strong, when God shall deal with
them ? Their mouths will be stopped in speech-
less, self-condemning astonishment. O consider,
if yet thou be without a treasure of grace; and
rather ask thyself some heart-awakening questions*
than that God should put to thee such alarming
interrogatories. Say thus, to thy soul, ^^My poor
pining soul, how is it with thee ? What hast thou
been doing, and for what wast thou sent into the
world ? What must become of thee ? What pro-
vision hast thou made for an eternal state ? Where
must thou lodge, if thou die this night ?'^ Here
let me propose to you a few solemn considerations.

If thy soul be yet without a true gracious prin-
ciple, thy condition is miserable ; for thou hast no
assurance of any more means to obtain it, nor of
living another day to hear another sermon, or of
receiving grace to make the means effectual for
thy soul's good. Hast thou stood out so long, and
dost thou now presume upon a longer day ? Must
the earth be forsaken for thee ? And shall God
leave His ordinary road to do thee good, step aside
to meet with thee ? God sometimes does so ; but
what ground hast thou to expect it, that hast
abused grace so long ?

Is not this emptiness of good a dreadful sign of
rejection ? ^^He that hath a froward heart findeth

NEQLKCT OF IT REPROVED. 75

no good." Nothing does him good, neither word
nor rod. May not you sadly fear judicial hard-
ness, to punish wilful negligence ? One would
have thought, if any good had been intended for
you, that you would have been possessed of it be-
fore this. It is a black brand of reprobation to
live long under melting ordinances, and be still
hard and dead.

Wilful neglect is an act of disingenuousness to-
wards God, cruelty to your own souls, and the
ready way to banish ordinances from posterity.
What ? must God always hold you a candle to
play by? "Wherefore is there a price in the
hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no
heart to it ?" Be sure, if Satan find you idle, he
will set you to work. Negligence is a sad prog-
nostic and preparative for eternal torment; and
the greater your ease now, the greater will be your
torment hereafter. Shall the God of heaven al-
ways heap kindness upon ofiending, grace-abusing
and refusing wretches ? No, no ; when love hath
said its errand, justice will act its part.

Your lost advantages will prove your bitterest
torment. All men must be judged according to
their privileges ; and wilful loiterers shall be pun-
ished according to their contempt of gospel oppor-
tunities. Gospel despisers shall account poor
heathens comparatively happy, though their com-

76 HEART-TREASURE.

panions in eternal misery. Their bright sun of
gospel grace shall set in thicker darkness, and
greater treasures of wrath shall be poured into
those vessels, that shut out treasures of grace.

2. Another sort to be reproved, are empty and
vain-glorious boasters, gilded hypocrites, that pre-
tend to a great treasure, but are sorry beggars.
Popish priests will tell you that they have merit
enough, both for themselves and others; that out
of the abundant treasure of their good works, they
can furnish defective souls on earth, and deliver
tormented souls out of purgatory. But believe
them not. They would make merchandize of
souls, and draw them to delusions and damnation.
Jesus Christ is our only treasury. There is no-
thing like merit in any mere creature. Angels in
heaven stand by grace, having their confirmation
through Christ ; and sure I am, that they have no
merits to spare. The wise virgins could not fur-
nish others ; but a boasting friar pretends he can,
though the most of his seeming good works will
rather prejudice himself than profit others; since
they generally spring from that vain will-worship,
which is coined in the mint of a superstitious
brain ; which makes the commands of God of none
efi"cct; and which can only provoke the Lord's
wrath against those who promote and practise it.
But suppose a man could obey positive commands,

NEGLECT OF IT REPROVED 77

in practising all Sciipturc duties, and avoiding all
sius; yet wherein has he to glory? Is he not still
an unprofitable servant? Does he give to God
any thing but His own? Is it not a debt due?
And is it by his own strength, or by the strength
of God? And can he do what he does, perfectly,
w^ithout the least tincture or stain of imperfection,
or of defect ? Let any mere creature show, if he
can, such good works as these, and let him climb
up to heaven on Acestus's rotten ladder; we are
resolved to ascend on Jacob's ladder. Let others
trust their own merit; but let true Christians de-
pend on grace. Let us repose all our trust on the
mercy of God and the merits of Christ, rather than
on the tottering foundation of man's best righteous-
ness, which is but a filthy rag, and will rather
defile us than cover our nakedness.

But I principally design to rebuke such persons,
as hypocritically and histrionically act the part of
kings and emperors, while they are despicable up-
starts; that pretend upon the stage of their fair
profession to coffers of gold, and precious treasures
of grace ; but, when followed into the withdrawing-
rooms of privacy, are found to be wofully destitute
of all saving good. These poor souls conceit with
counterfeit graces to purchase heaven, and by
making lies their refuge to be secured from wrath.
But, alas ! the God of heaven sees their false coin

78 HEART-TREASURE.

and self-flattering hearts. " All the ways of man
are clean in his own eyes, but the Lord weigheth
the spirits.'' 0 how many hearts and ways would
be found light and wanting, if weighed in the
balance of the sanctuary ! At the last day, it will
be seen that there are wonderful self-cheating con-
ceits and confidences. There are many false hearts
under fair vizors; but when these vizors are
plucked ofi", all shall appear in their own colors ;
and 0 what strange sights will then be seen !
When wicked men's foul insides are turned out,
certainly they will be very abominable. Though
now every cunning hypocrite carries himself so
closely that none can detect him ; yet a time will
come that shall bring every secret thing to light,
and discover the guile of the deceitful usurer in
religion, who thinks to truck for heaven with his
stolen wares. 0 how much better is a poor soul
than such a self-deluding richling, who thinks he
is something, yet is nothing, and so deceives his
own soul, plays the sophister, and puts a false
syllogism upon himself! How many are in a
golden dream, build castles in the air, and fancy
they are kings ; but when they awake out of their
revery, they find themselves miserably mistaken !
Solomon says, " Whoso boasteth himself of a false
gift, is like clouds and wind without rain." That
is, he that pretends to give or receive what is not

NEGLECT OF IT REPROVED. 79

real, but counterfeits cither, renders himself ridi-
culous among men and odious to God. Our Lord
Jesus ^' cursed the barren fig-tree,^' to manifest his
displeasure against hypocrisy. Hypocrites are the
most hateful of all persons. They are hated by
wicked men for seeming good ; they are hated by
God and good men for but seeming, and not being
truly good. As the fruit of hypocrites is like the
apples of Sodom, that look fair with a beautiful
skin, but touch them and they are dust; so the
end of hypocrites will probably be like that of
Sodom, which God overthrew as in a moment.
They will be patterns to others of a peculiarly
dreadful destruction. Hence the fearful emphasis
of the phrase, "appointing a portion Avith the
hypocrites.'^

But here comes in a carnal, sensual sot, and
applies all this to the zealous professor, and will
needs condemn him for a hypocrite, because he
makes so great a show ; while he accounts himself
a sincere saint, because he conceits his heart to be
good. Such a censure is contrary to Scripture,
and such a conceit is contrary to the very sense
and experience of mere pretenders to religion.
For they may find, and God's children feel, that
the heart is the worst part of the whole man ; it
is a man's ignorance of it that makes him imagine
it to be the best. The truth is, no man will com-

80 HEART-TREASURE.

mend this common cheater, but he that knows it
not; for it is known to be "desperately wicked,
and deceitful above all things," or a supplantcr, as
the word imports, that would trip up the heels of
the Christian, and cheat him of his prize and re-
ward. If ever thou be undone, it is thy heart that
will undo thee. Thou dost brag of thy heart;
alas, poor soul, thou hast cause to bewail it, and to
be afraid of it; and if conviction open thee a win-
dow to look into it, thou shalt see a monstrous,
dreadful sight, that will make thee out of love
with thyself, and cause thy heart to ache, if it do
not break, with godly sorrow. As for the children
of God whom wicked men condemn, for making so
great a show, I shall say but this, that it is the
most bare-faced uncharitableness in the world, to
judge contrary to what we see; yea, it is a blas-
phemous assuming to a man's self, the property of
God's omniscience, to pretend to search the heart,
and to say, the thoughts of the heart are opposite
to the profession of the lips, and the practice of the
life. The Lord rebuke such railing Rabshakehs,
as condemn all the generation of God's children,
and that too, because of their holy, world-condemn-
ing conversation. These moles cannot endure the
light of saints' paths. Hence they say, "I war-
rant you, these precise walkers are no better than
their neighbors. If the truth were known, they

NEGLECT OF IT REPROVED. 81

are a company of disscmLlci-s, and are rotten at
the heart. Pharisee-like, they make clean the
outside of the cup, and condemn others as profane."
And then they bind it with an oath that they are
as bad as themselves I And if a professor slip into
an open sin, then they are confirmed in their cen-
sures, and conclude, ^^they are all alike — a pack
of dissemblers !" And now the holiest saint — he
who hates sin, and mourns for it as his greatest
burden — shall have his brother's miscarriage dashed
in his teeth for ever. But if a man might argue
with these sottish, yet censorious souls, in a ra-
tional way, what could they answer ? Are not
they themselves worse than the loosest professors,
and how far short do they fall of close-walking
Christians ? Should all be condemned for the sake
of one ? And should we not judge according to
what we see, or can attain to the knowledge of?
Is not the tree known to us by its fruits, and not
by its roots, which are invisible to us ? May the
Lord set these vain boasters a work in searching
their own hearts, and examining their ^' ownselves,
whether Christ be in them," as Paul directs the
Corinthians in this very case. This will cure their
censorious spirits, and find them work enough to
do at home. For as the eye that looks most
abroad sees least within, so the most uncharitable
censurers are the most empty, unprofitable profes-

82 HEART-TREASURE.

sors: whereas a Christian that has most grace
himself, judges best of others. And mark it well,
thej that gronndlessly judge others to be worse
than they see apparent cause, will be judged by
others in like manner in this world ; and are in
danger of a sad and just censure and sentence at
the dreadful day of judgment. " What then is the
hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained,
when God taketh away his soul ?''

3. Another sort that should be admonished,
are impious oflfenders, impenitent sinners, that
verify the latter part of the text, and run a course
directly contrary to the good man. "An evil
man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth
forth evil things." How should it be otherwise?
Men must needs act as they are. It was a proverb
of the ancients, " Wickedness proceedeth from the
wicked.^' Such as the fountain is, such must
needs be the streams. The fruit is answerable to
the nature of the root and tree. The working
forge of men's evil hearts sparkles forth evil
imaginations. Why are men so wicked in their
lives ? It is because they are more wicked in their
hearts; for the cause is always greater than the
effect. 0 liOAv many vassals of Satan and vessels
of sin are replenishing and preparing for wrath !
For as a good man's treasure prepares him to do
the more good, so too many are filling their souls

NEGLECT OF IT REPROVED. 83

with guilt, and hardening their hearts by custom
in sin, that they may be vile with less remorse, and
swallow down iniquity as the fish drinks in water.
They cauterize their consciences, and twist a strong
cord of customary sinning, that they may draw
iniquity with cart-ropes, and do evil with both
hands earnestly, so that their hearts may not smite
them with a sense of remorse. As the scholar
that Dr. Preston speaks of, who had committed
such a scandalous sin, that he could not rest by
reason of terrors of conscience; and being insti-
gated by the Devil to commit the same sin again,
in order to obtain quiet ; — did so, and afterwards
could sin without remorse : in like manner, many
persons have imprinted an impudence on their
foreheads by constant sinning, so that at last they
are '' past feeling, having given themselves over to
all lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with
greediness.'' The word, " past feeling,'' imports
remorselessness, senselessness, like that of a mem-
ber benumbed or seared; and this comes with cus-
tom in sinning, according to the well known truth,
that the practice of sin takes away the sense of sin.
We are apt to wonder at ihe horrid abominations
that break out. But if we consider the prodigious
wickedness of an atheistical heart, we may rather
wonder that there is no more profaneness in the
world. If the tongue be a world of iniquity, how

84 HEART-TREASURE.

many worlds of wickedness are there in a wicked
heart? Not a thousandth part of the corruption
which dwells in the human breast, appears out-
wardly. Surely, did not God set bounds to men's
raging lusts, the world would not be habitable for
the saints. God restrains that wrath which will
not turn to His praise, and the advantage of His
people ; and when wicked men have belched out
as much rage as they can, there is a remnant yet
behind. AVe are fallen into the dregs of time, and
iniquity abounds. The world is full of atheism,
pride, uncleanness, swearing, drunkenness, glut-
tony, blasphemy, Sabbath-breaking, contempt and
scorning of religion. Men break out, and blood
toucheth blood. But were there a casement or
perspective whereby a man might look into a carnal
heart, 0 what a filthy sink of unheard-of sin, and
full nest of odious vipers, might he behold ! Cer-
tainly it would be the most dreadful sight in the
world — far worse than to see the Devil in his
ugliest hue. We may well stand wondering at the
fathomless, bottomless depth of wickedness in the
heart of man. "It is/' says Luther, "the trea-
sure of evils, the fountain of poison, the head and
original of all iniquity." Every man has that in
his heart which he cannot believe to be there, but
which yet may and will break out in its season, as
in the known instance of Hazael. The truth is,

NEGLECT OF IT REPROVED. 85

the seed and spawn of all heresies, impieties, and
blasphemies, are in our nature. Greeuham has
forcibly said, " That if all errors and the memo-
rials of them were annihilated by the absolute
power of God, so that there should not the least
remembrance of them remain, yet there is enough
in the heart of one man to revive them all again
the next day.'' And I may add also, that the same
is true as to profane practices. The wickedness
that is in the world does not proceed from imitation
of Adam's sin — as Pelagians dream — at least, not
from thence only; but also and chiefly from the
propagation of original corruption to all his pos-
terity ; for there is an inherent depravity entailed
upon us and transmitted to us from our first pa-
rents, which has its regency in the heart, and its
activity in the life. The fifth chapter of the
Epistlo to the Romans will stand firm against all
Pelagian and Socinian adversaries, proving that
both Adam, and Christ, our Second Adam, com-
municate to their seed that which is their own,
both by imputation and propagation. The first
Adam distributes impurity, guilt and death; the
Second gives grace, righteousness, and eternal life.
It will remain as an undoubted maxim and a sad
experience, that there is a constitutional deviation
of our whole nature from the law of God; so that
there is a universal corruption of the entire man —
8

86 HEART-TREASURE.

of the understanding, conscience, will, affections,
and all the members of the body. And this
original sinfulness is not in some men more, in
some less, but in every man equally, as all men
equally inherit from Adam the nature of man, and
are equally the children of wrath. And the reason
why some are more civil, others outrageous, pro-
ceeds from God's bridling some and leaving others.
And truly, restraining grace is a choice mercy, in
its kind, else what would not men do ? The truth
is, the origin of sin is within. ^^ Every man,''
says the Apostle, " is tempted when he is drawn
away and enticed of his own lust.'' Here, lust is
represented as the father. '^And lust when it
hath conceived bringeth forth sin." There, lust is
represented as the mother too. ^^ Hence," as
Reynolds well observes, "there is no sin but
might be committed if Satan were dead and buried.
Original sin is virtually every sin. And could one
kill the Devil, yet you cannot name the sin that
original depravity would not entice a man to com-
mit. Suppose it possible for a man to be separated
from the contagious company of wicked men, and
out of the reach of Satan's suggestions, nay, to
converse in the midst of renowned saints, yet that
man has enough in himself to beget, conceive,
bring forth, and consummate all actual sins."
Well; then, let all men behold the foul face of

NEGLECT OF IT llEPKOVED. 87

their hearts in tlic pure ghuss of the law of God,
and they will sec a strange and astonishing specta-
cle, which would ced cither in evangelical repent-
ance or final despair.

There is a necessary and profitable sight of sin,
which drives the soul out of itself to Jesus Christ.
O labor for that ! Take the candle of the word,
and go down into the dark dungeon of jour
hearts. Search yourselves, lest the Lord search
you as with candles. Know and acknowledge the
plague of your own hearts. Be not afraid to
know the worst of yourselves. It is better that
we should set our sins in order before us, for our
humiliation, while there is a hope of pardon, than
that God should set them in order before us
at the great and last day, for our eternal con-
demnation. We may say of an impenitent sinner
as the prophet said of his servant, " Lord, open
his eyes," and surely he shall see a troop of lusts-
The mountain of his proud heart is covered witk
monstrous armed sins, that fight against the soul.
O that the thoughts of your hearts may be disco-
vered, pardoned, and purged out, lest, by wilful
fclnning, you heap up " wrath against the day of
\\rath," and your souls perish for waat of a trea-
siire of grace, and by reason of this dreadful trea-
61X0 of sin and guilt.

4 The last sort of persons that fall under the

88 HEART-TREASUKE,

lash of a sharp and just reproof, are nnprofitable
Christians, who, though they be sincere in the
main, and have the root of the matter within
them, still have not yet gained this treasure.
Alas ! there are none of us but have too much
bad, and too little good treasure in our hearts.
We cannot but know all the wickedness to which
our hearts are privy ; and cannot our consciences
discover an emptiness and vacuity of good? O
what a chaos of confusion is in our hearts ! And
whence comes this ? Have we not had means of
gathering a largo treasure ? What have we done
with all our ordinances, sermons, sacraments, mer-
cies, afflictions? If we had been diligent, we
might have furnished our souls with truths, graces,
comforts, and experiences. What could have been
done more for us ? And have we a treasure pro-
portionable to our enjoyments ? Whence then are
we so unfit for duties, and so untoward in their
performance; so slight, dead, and trifling in reli-
gious exercises ; so unprepar-ed for ordinances, and
so unprofitable under them; so unthankful for
mercies, so discontented under crosses; so weak
in resisting temptations and subduing corruptions ;
so unwilling and unprepared for the communion
of saints ? O ! Av^ience is it, that we are so apt to
sit loose from God; are so little fit.for fellowship
with Him ^ aiid so^ mueh at a distance fi^m Him ?

NEGLECT OF IT REPROVED. 89

Certainly the reason is obvious — we have not such
a treasure as becomes saints. Especially, the great
reason why we are so little skillful in the heavenly
duty of meditation, is, the want of a treasure of
holy thoughts. When we are alone we cannot fix
our minds uj^on a heart-affecting subject, or, at
least, cannot pursue it, till our hearts be deeply
affected; but our thoughts are off and on, very
inconsistent, incoherent, and vagrant; like the
rambling discourses of a madman, the ranging
motions of a spaniel, or " the eyes of a fool, that
are in the ends of the earth/' We run from
object to object in a moment, and one thought
looks like a mere stranger to another. Were our
thoughts patent ; or were an invisible notary, ac-
quainted with them, to write them down, and
repeat them to us ; how should we blush and be
confounded in the rehearsal ! It is recorded of
Dr. Potter, that hearing the fellows of the college
talk of trivial things, he said nothing; but after
they had done talking he thus addressed them.
^' And now, my masters, will you hear all your
extravagant discourses, for I have strictly observed
and marked what you said.'' And he told them
every whit. So suppose some one should present
to our ears or eyes a relation of our wild imagina-
tions in one hour's time, what a strange medley
of nonsense would there be ! '^ The Lord know-
8*

90 HEART-TREASURE.

eth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity."
When we have summed up all the traverses, rea-
sonings, and discourses of the mind, we may write
this at the bottom as the sum total. '^ All is
vanity, nothing but vanity; yea, vanity in the
abstract.'^ And what is the reason of all this,
but a want of the fore-mentioned treasure — a stock
of truths, graces, comforts, and experiences.

I shall conclude this subject with a few consi-
derations for the conviction and humiliation of
unfruitful believers.

1. Are not these spiritual things worth hoarding
up ? Look about you, through the whole creation,
and see if you can find any thing better of which
to make a treasure. David says, " I have seen an
end of all perfection." All outward enjoyments
are a scant garment, that cannot cover us, or rot-
ten rags, that are soon worn out. But one part
of this treasure, that is, God's commandment, is
of large extent. Hence it is said, " Thy com-
mandment is exceeding broad." It reaches from
heaven to earth, from great to small, to all sorts
of sinners, to all the faculties of the soul, to and
through all eternity. Thus long and broad is the
Christian's treasure. Where then can you mend
yourselves for a treasure ? Spiritual blessings
have all dimensions of perfection. They are tho
cream and flower of all blessings. No other trea-

NEGLECT OF IT REPROVED. 91

euros can avail in the day of wrath. If heavenly
things be not worth looking after, what are '^
Should not spiritual persons set their hearts on
spiritual riches ? Are not these most suitable to
your immortal souls, and spiritual principles ?
Have you not been married to Christ, and can you
be content to be without any part of your dowry ?
Are not you risen with Christ, and should you
not then seek after things above? Are not the
things of God great things — things of eternal con-
cernment? And did you not prize them at a high
rate at your first conviction ? And was not this
your motto, — ^^ I seek not, I pursue not mortal
things, temporary, fading enjoyments; but things
immortal and divine?" And are not these as much
worth inquiring after now as formerly ? Yes, cer-
tainly, these do not decay through age. It was the
matters belonging to the old covenant, or legal dis-
pensation, that decayed and waxed old, and so by
degrees vanished away. New covenant mercies are
the '^ sure mercies of David," and they are always
fresh and green. Hence the Church says to Christ
her Spouse ; " Also our bed is green :" that is,
our mutual delight in each other is lively, sweet,
and satisfying, — never glutting, as earthly delights
do. He that drinks of these living waters shall
never thirst after the muddy waters of earthly
comforts ; but shall more ardently thirst and pant

92 HEART-TREASURE.

after the living God. Look then to it. There is
nothing worth desiring but this heavenly treasure.
If you can find any better, take it, and much good
may it do you ; yet brag not of your bargain till
you see the issue.

2. Are you in any danger of having too much
of these things ? Surely there are no superfluities
in the internals of religion. In the outward part
too much may indeed be done. In some respects
one may be '' righteous overmuch ;'' that is, in
either a self-willed, superstitious way, or else in
such an unseasonable or prolonged performance of
religious duties, as to tire out a tempted soul, and
run the Christian off his legs. But of inward
graces, sanctified knowledge, and real holiness,
there can never be an overplus or excess. Whilst
you are on this side heaven, you will be short of
perfection. Let sottish worldlings say, with Fes-
tus, that much learning makes professors mad.
Let ms study to increase and abound more and
more in knowledge, faith, love, humility, expe-
rience ; as Paul pressed forward, if by any means
he might attain to the resurrection of the dead,
forgetting what was behind, and reaching forth to
what was before. Moses's ark had staves for re-
removing further — Jacob's ladder had rounds for
ascending higher; so Christians must sing the
song of degrees iu this world, and should seek to

NEGLECT OF IT REPROTED. 93

be renewed day by day. We must not be satisfied
with present attainments, but work hard to increase
them to a treasure. V^e must strive both for full-
ness of grace and fullness of joy. It is possible that
a Christian may attain to a full assurance; yea,
to that joy which is unspeakable, and to that
peace which passeth all understanding; and he
may even think that he has enough. I have
heard of a good man who enjoyed such an abun-
dant tide of comfort, that he desired the Lord to
stay His hand, lest the vessel should break.
Though this is not ordinary for every believer,
nor at all times for any, yet instances of it may
have occurred. There may, therefore, be some
saints who have as much comfort as they desire.
But I never read or heard of any that had too
much grace, or so much as they desired. All
have bewailed their defects, living and dying;
and the best men have been most covetous of
divine things, young and old. It is said of good
Mr. Herbert Palmer, that when he was of the age
of four or five years, he would cry to go to his mo-
ther, that he might hear something of God. And
of old Grynaeus — a godly German divine — it is
recorded, that when some persons were discoursing
by his death-bed he lifted himself up, saying,
" I shall die with more comfort if I may die learn-
ing something for the good of my soul." Now,

94 HEART-TREASURE.

dear reader, who or what are you ? Are you wise
enough, good enough ? Are you afraid of being
too like God, or of having too much of God in and
with your soul ? Are you loth to get too ready
for, or too readily into, heaven ? Alas, alas ! you
may well call your state in question, if you say,
you have grace enough, or are good enough, or if
you slacken your endeavors to get more grace,
upon a conceit that you need no more. It is as
natural for a living saint to call for grace as for a
living child to cry for food. Insatiable desire
after grace, is a clear test of the reality of grace.
0 shame thyself, then, for thy neglect, and hum-
ble thy soul for thy non-proficiency !

3. Do you certainly know what treasure you
may need ? When you go a journey you take
money enough, because you cannot tell but you
may be put to extraordinary expenses ; and truly,
in your journey to heaven you may be put to un-
expected charges. You little know what a day
may bring forth. It may bring forth a burden for
your back. God may call you to sharp service, in
the way of duty or of difficulty. You are sure to
go through a purgatory to glory. The way to
heaven is strait and narrow, and you must crowd
hard to get in. Through manifold temptations
and tribulations you must enter into the ''rest that
remaincth for the people of God." It is an irre-

NEGLECT OF IT REPROVED. 1)5

vocable decree of Heaven, that '^all that will live
godly in Christ Jesus shall sufifer persecution."
We have had fair weather hitherto, but the greater
storm is behind. "We have not yet '^resisted unto
blood/' but we may be put to it. Be assured,
that so long as the Devil is in hell, and Antichrist
on earth, there will be persecutions raised against
the Church, in some part of it or other; and the
dying blows of these doomed adversaries may
prove the heaviest of all. Woe to those who are
unprovided for that sharp day ! 0 what piteous
shirking will tliere be to save the skin, and damn
the soul ! 0 Christians ! get furnished for this
encounter. We little know whom it may reach, oi
how long the storm may last. You need to be
" strengthened with all might, unto all patience
and long-suffering, with joy fulness," lest, if your
patience be short, and your sufferings long, you
may fail in the way, and fall short of your crown.
What a sad plight are those seamen in that have
made but a scant provision, and meet with a long
voyage, It was a good saying of Mr. Dod, '' That
this is the difference betwixt a Christian who is
provided for troubles, and one who is not; that to
the one they are but blows on the harness, but to
the other they are blows on the flesh." ^lian
tells us, ^'That in Lybia men slept with their boots
on, because of the scorpions, that they might not

9G HEART-TREASURE.

sting them." We have need also to be well
^'shod/' or booted, "with the preparation of the
gospel of peace ;'' that is, with a disposition and
resolution to walk in the most thorny way, and
tlirough the stinging company of wicked men, that
we may "follow the Lamb whithersoever He
goeth/' It behoves us to count the cost in the
profession of religion. We do not know what God
may call us to do or to endure. Great services re-
quire great strength. That we may neither be
weary of, nor weary in, the Lord's work, we
need a large fund of inward grace and strength.
We must lay in much, that we may lay out much
for God. We know not what God will call us to
use. When the Israelites were to go out of Egypt,
Moses instructed them to take their cattle, and not
to leave a hoof behind, because they knew not with
what they must serve the Lord, till they came to
the appointed place. In order that they might be
thoroughly furnished, they also borrowed jewels;
and the Egyptians, as Lightfoot remarks, were the
more willing to lend them, since they themselves
were decked with jewels, that they might be more
acceptable to their deities. In like manner, we do
not know with what sort of graces or truths we
may be required to serve the Lord. Let us, then,
strive for all instituted qualifications, that we may
be so supplied and adorned, that the Lord may

NEGLECT OF IT REPROVED. 97

take pleasure in us; and that we may go through
services and sufferings with glory to God, credit to
leligion, and comfort to our own souls. Those are
unwise Christians who seek not to be furnished for
all the emergencies of their spiritual course, since
no man knows what he may need.

4. Neglect herein is a dishonor to God, and a
disparagement to the treasures of grace. '^ Why
art thou, being the king's son, lean from day to
day," said Jonadab to Amnon. And well may I
ask the weik and sickly children of Zion, Whence
proceeds your leanness ? Is there not meat enough
at your Father's table ? Is there not store suffi-
cient in your Master's treasury ? Do you not dis-
parage the means of your supply, and bring an ill
report on the good land? God is not a hard mas-
ter, but distributes liberally an abundant dole of
grace. Why, then, are your souls in no better
condition ? The reason is not in God, but in
yourselves. ^^ You are not straitened in Him, but
in your own bowels." Now, as a recompense of
His love and munificence, " be ye also enlarged."
It eases God's heart, if we may so speak, to be
constantly communicating His goodness. It pleased
Him infinitely from eternity, to think of expending
richfis of grace upon sinners in time. But He can
be perfectly and perpetually happy without you.
It ciiieflj concerns jou to fetch all from Him, that
9

98 nEART-TREASURi:.

you also may be happy in the enjoyment of Him.
Are you afraid of being happy? Who, but foolish
man, would forsake his own mercies ? Shall God
set up an office of grace in Christ, and will indi-
gent souls take na notice of it? You cannot
grieve Him worse than to neglect His infinite con-
descension and tender affection. If a mighty king
should open his treasure, and bid men come and
bring their bags, and take as much as they desired,
do you think they would neglect this occasion of
enriching themselves? Surely not. They would
rather fetch bag after bag, and with the poor
woman in sacred story, boiTOw vessel's that might
contain larger treasures. The God of heaven has
made a glorious proclamation, announcing to all a
free access to the precious treasures of mercy. I)o
you question whether He intends as He speaks ?
God forbid. Or do you fear that you may not be
welcome ? Why, you are most welcome when you
come for the greatest share. Do you fear that un-
worthiness will hinder you? A sense of unworthi-
ness will help you to be capable of greater receipts.
Do your fear these treasures will be exhausted by
the myriads of souls that are supplied fram them?
Know, then, that the exchequer of Heaven is as
rich this day, as it was when Christ was first
promised, or the first man saved. These riches
of grace have au iuexhaustible spring. Distribist-

NEGLECT OF IT RErROVED. 99

tion does not impair their fullness, no more than
the sun's shining robs it of its innate and native
light. 0 then, why are our souls so poor and
pining ? The Lord humble us because we have no
more, when there is so much to be had in our all-
sufficient treasury.

5;a'7%09il

CHAPTER VIII.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DESTITUTE.

I COME now to inquire, how the soul may be
furnished with a rich and suitable heart-treasure.
The examination of this question will be useful
both to sinners and to saints 3 and although it is to
the latter that I principally address myself, yet,
because the treasure of true grace is absolutely
necessary, I shall lay down some few directions
for the graceless soul, that it may attain that
spiritual character, in the absence of which it can-
not bring forth one good thought, word, or work.
This is the inward principle without which there
can be no gracious acts ; the root, without which
there can be no fruit to God. This is that stock
to trade with, without which there can be no trans-
actions with God, or true heaping up of the fore-
mentioned treasure of sanctifying truths, spiritual
graces, heart melting experiences, or heart-cheer-
ing comforts. It is, indeed, true, that the Divine
Spirit can alone produce any vital and saving
change in the heart. All truly gracious affections
are of heavenly extract and origin. Yet we are to
(100)

HOW ATTAINABLE. 101

wait upon God in the use of appointed means.
^' Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling; for it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do, of His good pleasure."
This text both confutes the speculative frec-willer,
and convinces the practical loiterer, that grace is
to be had from God in His way, though it is not
purchased by man's working. I shall, therefore,
propound these seven directions to poor graceless
souls — involving as they do plain, practical duties.
1. Withdraw from the world. Learn to se-
quester yourselves, at certain times, from the cares
of business, and the distractions of company. Do
not think you can hoard up in a crowd. Satan
loves to fish in troubled waters, but so does not
Christ. The noise of Cain's hammers, in building
cities, drowned the voice of conscience. A man will
best enjoy himself alone. Solitude is of singular
advantage, both for getting and for increasing
grace. " Through desire a man having separated
himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wis-
dom." In this you may and must be separatists.
Let me advise you — and, 0, that I could prevail
at least thus far — to treat and entertain yourselves
by yourselves. He is a wicked man, and resolves
to continue so, who dares not entertain himself
with discourses about spiritual subjects and soul
afi'airs. It were more safe to know the worst, be-

102 HEART-TREASURE.

fore you feel the worst. Let your solitary thoughts
be working about things of eternity. Accustom
yourselves to secret and serious pondering. I
have read, that the father of a prodigal enjoined it
on him, as his death-bed charge, that he should
spend a quarter of an hour every day in retired
thinking, but left him at liberty to think of what
he would. The son, having this liberty to please
himself in the subject, sets himself to the perform-
ance of his promise. His thoughts one day recall
his past pleasures ; on another, contrive his future
delights. But at length, becoming inquisitive to
know what might be his father's end in jiroposing
this task, he thought that, as his father was a wise
and good man, he must surely have intended and
hoped that he would some time or other think of
religion. "When this had leavened his thoughts,
they multiplied exceedingly, neither could they be
confined to one short hour, but followed him inces-
santly, till he became seriously religious.

0 you little know what good efiects a serious
consideration may produce ! God propounds it,
and men have practised it, as the great expedient
to begin and promote repentance. Consider for
what you came into the world ; whither you must
go if you die this moment ; what a state you were
born in ; what is the need and nature of regenera-
tion; what the worth and price of your immortal

HOW ATTxVlNABLE. 103

souls ; and, through God's blessing, these thoughts
may leave some good impressions.

2. Be at a point concerning your state. Be
exact and impartial in searching your hearts, to
find out your state. Trifle not in this great work
of self-examination. Be not afraid to know the
worst of yourselves. Make a thorough and criti-
cal heart-anatomy. Try whether "Jesus Christ
be in you." As the goldsmith brings his gold to
the balance, so do you weigh yourselves in the
balance of the sanctuary. Judge not of your state
by the common opinion of others concerning you,
but by Scripture characters. Bring your virtues
to the touchstone; pierce them through, to try
whether they be genuine graces or moral endow-
ments. See whether your treasure be that " gold
that is tried in the fire.'' 0 how many are de-
ceived with imaginary felicities and empty flour-
ishes ! Take heed of being put off with gifts, in-
stead of grace ; with conviction, instead of conver-
sion; with outward reformation, instead of saving
sanctification. This is the undoing of thousands.
Why will you not use as much diligence for your
souls as you do for your bodies or estates ? If your
body be in a dangerous disease, or your estate at
hazard in an intricate suit, you will run and ride,
and make friends, and pay any money, to know
what shall become of them, or to secure them:

104 HEAKr-TREASURE,

and are not your souls of more worth than a putrid
carcase, or a dunghill estate? Press yourselves
with such serious questions as these: — ^' Heart,
how is it with thee ? Art thou renewed ? What
life of grace is in thee ? Are thy graces of the
right stamp ? Whither art thou going ?'' And he
sure that you get distinct and positive answers.
Let not thy treacherous heart dally with ihee. Be
not put off with general hopes and groundless con-
jectures. A man is easily induced to believe what
he would have to be true. But rest not there;
try further ; make it out how it comes to be so ;
detect and answer every flaw in thy spiritual state.
If thou canst not do this thyself, make thy case
known to some able minister, or experienced Chris-
tian. Tell them how things are with thee; beg
advice ; ask them how it was with their souls ; and
thou shalt find much help in this way. Yet after all,
suspect thine own heart; call in aid from heaven;
desire the Lord to search thee ; and be willing to
be sifted to the core, searched to the bottom.
David is so intent upon this, and so afraid of a
mistake, that he uses three emphatic words, when
praying for the Divine inquisition. " Examine me,
0 Lord, and prove me, try my reins and my heart.''
The first word imports viewing as from a watch-
tower; the second, a trying, or finding out a thing
by questions, or an inquiry by signs or tests ; the

HOW ATTAINABLE. 105

last imports such a trial, as separates the dross
from the gold, or the dregs from the wine. So the
Christian should desire to be tried and purged,
that grace may appear true, sincere, and solid.
To be without such a thorough sifting, is as much
as your souls are worth. Take, therefore, the most
effectual course to clear your state to yourselves,
and be not put off with any answer, but what will
be accepted by God at the great day.

3. Mourn over your empty hearts. If you find
things not right in your own hearts, lament your
state, and cry out with a loud and bitter cry, as
Esau did when the blessing was gone. Lament
and say, "Woe and alas that ever I was born!
that I have lived thus long without God in the
world — a bankrupt at my first entrance into it,
and ever since a spiritual beggar. 0 what will
become of me, if I die in this state ! There is but
a step between me and death, and the next breath
I breathe may be in everlasting burnings. It is a
wonder I have not been hurled into hell before
this. What shall I do to be saved ? Is there any
hope for such a wretch as I am ? 0 that I could
bathe myself in briny tears of evangelical repent-
ance ! 0 how shall I believe in Jesus Christ, that
I may receive remission of sins V Never will you
be filled till you are sensible of soul-emptiness.
Spiritual poverty is the preparative to true soul-

106 HEART-TREASURE.

plenty. Gospel sorrow expands the soul, and so
capacitates it for grace. The oil of grace is poured
only into a contrite heart. The kingdom of God
belongs to the poor in spirit ; and we know that
the best benefits of this kingdom are internal, as
^^ righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost ;'^
and that these as a rich treasure replenish the
penitent soul ; for it is the sorrowful soul which
God replenishes. Endeavor, therefore, to discover
the nature of sin, and the danger to which it ex-
poses you, with the wrath of God hanging over
your heads. Were you pricked in your hearts with
a pinching pain, you would be restless till you had
obtained an interest in Jesus Christ. Were your
souls weary and heavy laden, you would not be
content till you had laid the stress of all upon an
infinite Saviour. If the Lord would help graceless
sinners these two steps, to see that they are yet
graceless, and to discern their misery in being so,
that were a hopeful gradation towards conversion.
Did you see your state, you could not but bewail it
and seek for a change. And did you see the pre-
cious nature of the soul, and that grace which is to
fill it, you would not be another day without it.

4. Empty thy heart of all corruption. 0 cleanse
that filthy source of all sin, and purge thyself from
all filthiness both of flesh and spirit. Shake hands
with that sin which forbids the banns of marriage

HOW ATTAINABLE. 107

between Jesus Christ and thy soul. *' Lay aside
every weight, and the sin which doth so easily
beset thee," and then lift up thine eyes and
heart to Jesus Christ. ^' Cleanse your hands, ye
sinners; purify your hearts, ye double-minded."
Empty this dirty house of thy heart, that the King
of Glory may come in. Throw out the Devil's
household stuff, and make room for a new Inhabi-
tant. The vessel must be emptied, or it can never
be filled with saving good ; for that which is within,
hinders any thing else from entering ; and, alas,
the heart is full of vain conceits, and worldly
thoughts, and impure lusts, which keep off good
emotions, and keep out good dispositions. Now,
'' if a man purge himself from these, he shall be a
vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the
Master's use, and prepared unto every good work."
Let me entreat you, for the Lord's sake, and for
your own soul's sake, to search and sweep every
dusty corner of your defiled heart Let not this
train of graces and treasure of truths be always
waiting your leisure, whilst you are wallowing in
the puddle of sin, and swallowing down the Devil's
sweet, but dangerous pills of soul-murdering temp-
tations. 0 be willing to make this blessed change^
to part with thy base lusts for a precious Christ;
to forego soul-damning corruptions for soul-glad-
dening dispositions! If you cannot put off the

108 HEART-TREASURE.

whole body of sin, yet you may cut oiF its mem-
bers. You ought indeed to pluck up sin by the
roots ; but, if you cannot do this, you may at least
lop off its branches. You may abate sin in part
by contrary actings. Knowledge removes igno-
rance, as light dispels darkness ; grief abates plea-
sure ; fear restrains boldness in sinning ; patience
daunts passion ; and fasting tames unruly lusts.
These you may do, and these may be good prepa-
ratives for this treasure. When the strength of a
fever is abated by depletion, a man is disposed to-
wards health; and ploughed ground is at least ma-
terially prepared for seed. And though God is
not bound then to sow the seeds of saving grace,
yet thou hast encouragement, that thy labor shall
not be in vain. Use these means and try the
issue. Endeavor to " cast off the works of dark-
ness, and to put on the armor of light;" yea,
labor to " put off the old man, and to put on the
new.^' At least, do what you can to wash your
hearts from filthiness, that your vain thoughts may
not lodge within you, and that you may have a
saving treasure of holy meditations.

5. Be gleaning in God's field; be filling your
sacks in the divine granary of ordinances. The
way for Ruth to be w*ell laden was to glean in
Boaz's field, am')ng the sheaves near the reapers
The Patriarchs must Lave recourse to Joseph's

HOW ATTAINABLE. 109

storehouse for provision • and where may we ex-
pect supply, but in gospel ordinances — those chan-
nels of grace ; the door-posts of wisdom ; the gar-
den where such precious spices grow ; the orchard
where the soul may be loaded with the fruits
of righteousness? Ordinances are the Lord's
camp, where this heavenly manna falls. They are
the green pastures, where we may fill and feast
our souls ; the galleries where the King of heaven
takes His walks, and where the Christless may meet
with Him. They are like Solomon's house of the
forest of Lebanon, built for an armory, where the
naked soul may be furnished with shields and
spears, with offensive and defensive weapons to
fortify it against the fiercest onsets of the great
Abaddon. If your souls be sick of love, here you
may find flagons to revive your fainting spirits,
dispensed by the Lord's stewards. If you sit un-
der this apple-tree, its shadow shall give you great
delight, and the fruit thereof will be sweet to your
taste. 0, then, seek Christ in the broad ways of
public ordinances, and " go forth by these foot-
steps of the flock." Search for this pearl in the
field of gospel dispensations, and your souls shall
be truly enriched. It is through the golden pipes
of these ordinances, that the precious oil of grace
is conveyed to us from the fruitful olive, Jesus
Christ, 0 do not leave ofi" ordinances, like some
10

110 HEART-TREASURE.

conceited professors that boast they are above
them ; for if you set the cistern above the cock, it
will never be full. Cherish, therefore, a reverent
esteem for the Lord's appointments. Attend them,
with constant steps, and a prepared mind. Live
still within the sound of Aaron's bells, and beg
of Grod that Aaron's rod may bring forth the buds
of grace in your immortal souls. " The rod of
Aaron," as one well observes, '^ may signify the
ministry, effective, as to the results it produces,
by the blessing of God; bringing forth buds,
blossoms, and ripe nuts, all at once : that is, pre-
cious buds of grace, blossoms of heavenly joy, and
holy fruits of righteousness and new obedience."
Let me especially entreat you to wait upon a
heart-searching ministry, that the secrets of your
heart may be made manifest, and that conscience
may be pricked. Be not afraid of a Boanerges,
but gladly welcome the sharp rebukes of your
soul's friends; it may be fittest for your sleepy or
seared conscience. It is said of the almond tree,
of which Aaron's rod was, that the rind of its fruit
is bitter, but the kernel very delicious, and the oil
pressed out of it very medicinal and healing.
Just such are the chastising words of a round-
dealing ministry ; bitter at present, but profitable
afterwards. And it is worthy of being observed,
that they are ordinarily the soundest Christians

now ATTAINABLE. Ill

who are trained under the most plain and pungent
preaching. I entreat you, therefore, to lay your-
selves directly under the hammer of the word,
that the Lord may fashion you according to His
will.

6. Study and improve free grace. 0 let your
thoughts dwell much upon God's infinite conde-
scension to poor sinners, and the unlimited invita-
tions which He addresses to them. " Whosoever
will, let him take the water of life freely.'' There
is no bar to your admission, but what yourselves
make. Christ Jesus includes you in gospel ten-
ders. 0 do not exclude yourselves. The great
Shepherd calls His sheep by name. How can He
do this but by speaking expressly to their case ?
It is as if He should strike the troubled sinner
upon the shoulder and say, ^' Here is comfort for
thee." What if thy name be not expressly men-
tioned; yet the proposition is universal — "he that
believeth shall be saved.'' Millions have ventured
their souls upon such a word, and never any mis-
carried that cast themselves into the arms of
Christ. You have no reason to doubt acceptance
if you come to Him. You have all the grounds
of encouragement imaginable. Should a physician
offer a cure to all that would come, it were madness
to stand off and say, I know not whether he intends
it for me. If men were ready to perish in deep

112 HEART-TREASURE,

waters, and a boat should be offered to carry to
land them that would come into it, it were an ab-
surd thing to dispute whether it be for us. If a
pardon come from the king for a company of con-
demned prisoners, and they may all have benefit
by it, if they will but accept it; what madman
would refuse it, and question whether the prince
intend him particularly, when his name is included
in the general grant. Surely men would not so
fondly cast away themselves in temporal things;
and who would be such a fool in the everlasting
concernments of his soul ? The way here is not to
dispute, but to believe. Is not Jesus Christ the
Physician of the soul, and are not we sick ? Is
not the gospel design of grace a plank after ship-
wreck, and are not we drowning? Are not we
condemned malefactors at the bar of God's justice?
And does not God graciously tender to us the re-
demption so dearly purchased by our precious Sa-
viour ? Why then should we forsake our own mer-
cies ? Why will you be cruel to your own souls ?
If it were in temporal things, you would put out
the hand and be very ready for receiving. If you
sit at a feast, and there stand a dish upon the
table that is agreeable to your palate, — though all
the company be free to make use of it, — ^yet you
say, " Here is a dish for me ;" and you think it
good manners to feed heartily upon it, without

HOW ATTAINABLE. 113

scruples and disputes of being welcome, since you
were freely invited by your generous friend. Our
Lord Jesus hath made ^' a feast of fat things," and
has bidden His guests. He invites you to eat and
drink abundantly. 0 do not excuse yourselves
from coming to this gospel feast. When He in-
vites, do not question whether He means as He
speaks, but fall to, and make a long arm, and take
3"our share of this provision. I can assure you,
He hath not an evil eye ; He doth not grudge you
this heavenly manna ; nay, rather than your souls
shall famish, He freely gives you His flesh and
blood, to nourish and save them. You, that have
torn His flesh with the teeth of cruel persecution
of Himself and His members; you, that have
trampled upon His blood with the feet of an
odious and abominable conversation — ^you, 0 yes !
you He calls to ^' eat His flesh and drink His
blood," by faith in Him, and improvement of
Him, that your souls may live. To you that have
despised riches of grace, treasures of grace are
opened. You that have fought against Jesus Christ
all your days, with all your might, He invites to
be His soldiers ; and He will graciously entertain
you as if you had never been in rebellion against
the King of kings ! Will not this melt and move
you to yield yourselves to your dear and loving
Lord ? I beseech you, take these things into your
10*

114 HEART-TREASURE-

serious thoughts, and accept of Jesus Christ.
Dream not, however, of application to Christ with-
out separation from sin. Take a whole Christ, to
sanctify thy heart as well as justify thy person;
to purify conscience as well as pacify wrath. Take
Christ aright ; mistake Him not, lest you be wo-
fuUy mistaken to your eternal undoing. You need
a whole Christ, and a broken heart will not be
content with a divided Saviour. It is the whorish
heart that will divide ; a sincere soul must have
all; it needs grace as well as peace. Indeed,
there is nothing of Christ useless. Every part of
this Lamb of God is of absolute necessity to the
indigent soul; and true faith takes Him in all
His mediatory latitude. It is as dangerous to
divide Christ believed on, as the heart believing.
Stir up yourselves, therefore, to a due considera-
tion of free grace, and to a right application of it.
7. Be humble petitioners at a throne of grace,
and beg hard at the gates of mercy for a large dole
of heavenly riches. Ask; if that will not do,
seek ; if seeking avail not, knock — and you shall
be sure to prevail. The choicest riches of Heaven
may be had for asking, and if they be not worth
that, they are worth nothing. Grod loves impor-
tunate beggars. There is the fullest liberty of
petitioning in the court of Heaven. It is no bad
manners there to heap suit upon suit. The oftener

HOW ATTAINABLE. 115

you come, the more welcome you are. '^ He will
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him -/' and
that is a great thing in God's account, and should
be in ours, for it enriches the soul with an abun-
dant treasure. 0 beg for the Spirit of God!
Open your mouths wide, and He will fill them.
We should think ourselves made forever, if we
might have all we could ask : yet we cannot ask
so much as God is able and willing to give. Stir
up yourselves, therefore, to desire grace. Open
the windows of your souls. Lift up yourselves to
God on the wings of desire, and fetch a treasure
from heaven into your hearts. Strong desires are
real prayers, and shall prevail ; for they not only
capacitate the soul for grace, but lay it directly
under the promise. Desires are the pullies of the
soul, that wind it up to heaven ; and desires are
the appetite and stomach of the soul, by which it
receives heaven. 0, then, pray hard. Do not
you see and hear, at your door, and in the road,
poor beggars urgently pleading for alms, and back-
ing up their pathetic cries, by showing their sores
and nakedness? Go you and do likewise. Fill
the ears of God with mighty cries. Take no de-
nial ; give Him no rest, till you have your share
in spiritual blessings. Tell Him that you will nob
be put off with the transient heritage of this wicked
world ; that crowns and golden mines are crumbs

116 HEART-TREASURE.

cast to dogs ; that He hath something better than
these for His children. Tell Him thou comest to
Him for a child's portion ; and that if He will but
give thee a treasure of grace in thy heart, and
reserve a treasure of glory for thee in heaven,
thou wilt refer all worldly things to Him, that He
may dispense them as He pleases, giving thee less
or more, any thing or nothing. Tell Him that
He has often entrusted these talents of grace to
great sinners ; and if thou art worse than any that
ever received them, yet tell Him, that He does not
sell these precious commodities to the deserving,
but gives them to the unworthy ; and that thou
art one that needs as much as any. Tell Him,
thau never yet heardst that He refused to give
them to any who sought them above worldly trea-
sures, with a broken heart, and for Christ's sake.
Tell Him, that Himself hath promised. His Son
hath purchased. His Spirit will freely convey these
riches into thy heart; and that if He will but
speak the word, it shall be quickly done. Tell
Him, yet once again, what a monument He will
thus raise to His own glory; and that, if He fill
thy soul with this treasure, He will thereby make
known the riches of His glory on a poor vessel of
mercy. And whereas thou art now a useless ves-
sel, in which the Lord can have no pleasure, and
from which He can receive no profit or honor*

now ATTAINABLE. 117

yet, if He will be pleased to replenish thy soul
with saving treasure, He may then take delight in
thee, and rest in His love towards thee; for when
He hath blessed thee '^ with spiritual blessings in
heavenly' things," then thou wilt be " to the praise
and glory of His grace. '^ Thus come ; thus pour
out your hearts before the Lord ; lie day and night
at the throne of grace ; and think not that any
seeking, however earnest and protracted, can be
too great for the blessing of eternal life. Will
you not do as much as Esau did for his blessing ?
He took pains to hunt for venison, that Isaac's
soul might bless him, and missing it, he lifted up
his voice, and '^ cried with a great and exceeding
bitter cry," redoubling his request with an affec-
tionate echo, ^' Bless me, even me also, 0 my
father !" The words are very remarkable, and
have an emphasis as striking as almost any that
are to be found in Scripture. And will you be
worse than Esau ? 0 if you knew the wants of
your souls, and the worth of divine things, your
prayers would have another accent, and be put up
with more fervency than they now are ; and then
you might hope to speed. " If thou criest after
knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for under-
Btanding ; if thou seekest her as silver, and search-
est for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou

118 HEART-TREASURE.

understand the fear of the Lord, and find the
knowledge of God.''

Before I conclude this topic, let me press on
you the important advice of our Saviour. " I
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire,
that thou mayest be rich ; and white raiment, that
thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy
nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes
with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.'" How for-
cibly do these words represent, by implication, the
forlornness of your state, while you are without
Christ ! You may imagine yourselves possessed
of every thing requisite to your happiness ; but it
is all a fond conceit and delusion. The Redeemer
reproves your self-ignorance, as He did that of the
Church at Laodicea, in the solemn declaration,
^' Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with
goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest
not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and
poor, and blind, and naked." He heaps up many
words to describe the aggravation of evils pertain-
ing to an unregenerate state. The graceless man
is ^^ wretched" — pressed with sickness and cala-
mity, overwhelmed with reproach, overthrown in
conflicts, unable to stir hand or foot for God,
being always overborne by his master, Satan. He
is " miserable ;" that is, though he stand in abso-
lute need of dinnc help, yet he is destitute of it,

HOW ATTAiNAT5LE. 119

aii'l \in-\voi'tliy to receive it. God will 'nave no
mercy on hiin while he remains impenitent. Is
nut his condition, then, most woful ? He is
'' poor"' — famishing with spiritual want, having
no source of relief within himself, and cut off, by
his unbelief, from all access to the inexhaustible
supplies pi-ovided in the Gaspel. Still farther, he
is '' blind" — blind to his own ruin, and blind to
the means of his rescue When a man is plunged
in extreme necessity, it is a sad aggi'avation, if he
knows not where to go for succor, nor how to go,
nay, even knows not that he needs to go, — is un-
done, and perceives it not. But this is not all,
nor the worst. To these terrible deprivations
nakedness is added. The poor sinner is without
the '^ wedding garment" of Christ's righteousness^
ha\^ng only a naked skin to shield him against
the tempest of God's wrath, the curse of the law,
and the goads of an angry conscience. Is there
any poverty like unto this poverty ? Let a man
be the richest potentate under heaven, yet, if he
be graceless, he is unutterably poor. No tongue
can express, no mind can conceive, the destitution
and misery of an unconverted sinner.

In the Hebrew language, there are seven words
which signify poor, and they are all applicable to
the man who is without Christ and grace. Amidst
outward suffieieacy, he is sti'aiteaed by a griping

120 HEART-TREASURE.

conscience; and an avaricious grasping after sha-
dows. His goods are diminished, and he is become
a bankrupt in Adam ; vain inventions have wasted
his fair estate, and daily weaken the relics of
natural light. He is oppressed with intolerable
labor, grinding in the Devil's mill, toiling in worse
than Egyptian bondage, without any relief for his
fainting soul. He is of a groveling mind, going,
like the serpent, with his belly in the dust — a de-
generate plant — the worst part of the moral crea-
tion— the basest of beings — the tail, and not the
head. Besides all this, he is afflicted spiritually
with suits, hatred, imprisonment, exile. God him-
self commences suit against him, hates him, ban-
ishes him from His presence, delivers him over into
the hands of Satan, by whom he is led captive at
his will. He is always needy; desires all things,
but has nothing ; cannot be content ; snatching on
the right hand and on the left, yet never satisfied;
and longing, with unsated thirst, to quaff the de-
ceitful waters of earth, that elude his lips, or only
increase his cravings. He is empty of virtues,
which are the riches of the mind ; for although he
may have some moral accomplishments, yet, in the
absence of grace, they are but splendid and shining
sins. He is, moreover, destitute of the world ; for
having with it God^s curse, and not His blessing,
it does him lao good;, nay, it is his banc, being

now ATTAINABLE. 121

both a snare and a poison, aggravating his sins,
enhancing hib torment, and preparing for him a
sadder account at the last day. Such, and worse,
is the condition of a Christless heart. 0 who
would tarry one hour in a state so horrible ! The
Lord be merciful to you, and pluck you out of the
Sodom of unrcgeneracy, lest you perish eternally.
In contrast with this poverty and wretchedness
of the wicked, impress deeply on your minds the
wealth and happiness, which you are counselled to
seek. And for this end, observe who is your
Counsellor. It is Jesus Christ, who is, indeed, the
only Counsellor, the Wisdom of the Father; who
best understands the law of Heaven, and what will
stand you in stead in the court of God. He, who
died for you, opens His heart to you. He, that
will speak to the Father for you, entreats you to
make use of Him as your only Advocate. Con-
sider, also, who and what you are, that are thus
counselled; enemies to His grace, in whom He
might glorify His justice, by casting you headlong
into perdition; flagrant and obstinate offenders
that have provoked Him all your days, and, in
the service of Satan and of yourselves, have
trampled His blood under your feet, and done
despite to the Spirit of His grace. Yet even to
you, so vile and ungrateful, behold, He pours out
His words—nay more, offers to pour out His
11

122 HEART-TREASURE.

Spirit. It is tlic voice of an infinite God to the
sinful children of earth- — ^' Unto you, 0 men, I
call, and my voice is to the sons of men." x\nd
then consider farther, to what He counsels you.
Tt is to a rich and precious purchase. 0 ye great
purchasers, here is a bargain for you ! not of a
paltry piece of land, but a kingdom — not an
earthly, but a heavenly kingdom — not a fiiir house
to live in here, but eternal mansions in the skies.
Come, strike up the bargain ; bid freely. But
what must you give? Money, or money's worth?
No, worldly treasures are dross here ; money has no
ascendency ; the price is fallen to just nothing.
Shall I say nothing? Something, however, you
must give. You must give up your sins, and give
God yourselves. Yet that is no price, because it
bears no proportion to the treasures received.
Grace and glory are God's gifts ; yet He puts this
honor upon such as honor Him by believing in His
Son, and addresses them as though they had
bought what He has freely bestowed. Let every
soul, then, make this cheap purchase. But if it
be so cheap, is it not of little value ? No, no, the
goods, which Christ offers you, are of inestimable
worth, and are absolutely indispensable to your
present and your eternal welfare. Here is ^^ gold
tried in the fire.^' This includes, doubtless, the
refined gold of Scripture truths, which we must by

HOW ATTAINABLE. 123

all means buy, and by no means sell. " The
words of the Lord are pure words ; as silver tried
in a furnace of earth, purified seven times /' and,
therefore, David loved them '^ above gold, yea,
above fine gold.'' I conceive, however, that in its
present connection, the expression relates rather to
the tried gold of Christian graces, and especially
to faith, which, being tried in the furnace of afflic-
tion, is much more precious than gold that pcrish-
eth. This, indeed, makes the soul truly rich. As
money answers all things, so faith will bring us
through all conditions, and become to us the in-
strument of all blessings. It conveys to us pardon,
justification, and acceptance with Grod, through
the all-sufficient merits of the Lord Jesus ; and it
draws from the fountain of His intercession '^ grace
to help in every time of need." This life-giving
and life-sustaining principle is bestowed by Christ.
Seek it, therefore, from Him ; and having received
it, look to Him constantly for its preservation and
increase.

Here, also, is '•'■ wliite ■raiment.'' Whiteness is
the symbol of purity. The Eoman candidates,
when seeking public honors or offices, were ac-
customed to appear in the forum, clothed in long
white garments, thus signifying that they possessed
the integrity of character which such dignities de-
manded. In allusion to this practice, our Saviour

124 HEART-TREASURE.

is represented as offering to clothe the guilty but
penitent soul in ''white raiment/' as an emblem
of its being justified before God, and made meet
for the glory of heaven, '^ by the washing of re-
generation, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost."
This priceless vesture consists of the outer robe of
Christ's righteousness, appropriated to us by faith ;
and of the inner clothing of personal holiness, with
which we become endued by the transforming and
purifying energy of the Divine Spirit. And of
both these it is said, " Blessed is he that watcheth
and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and
they see his shame;" — lest, in the all-revealing
day, the guilt and filth of his sins appear^ to his
everlasting ignominy and condemnation.

And here, too, is " ri/c-stflve;'* — a holy ointment to
purge away the rheum and dimness of our moral vi-
sion. The inward illumination of the Spirit banishes
from the soul the dark mists in which depravity has
enshrouded it, and enables it to see clearly the state
of our hearts, the evil of sin, and the excellency
of the things of God. A right understanding of
divine mysteries is the highest and best attainment.
This is the only learning of lasting importance and
value. No mere worldly knowledge is worthy of
being named in comparison with it ; for this " an-
nointing teacheth you all things," in reference
both to duty here, and to happiness hereafter.

now ATTAINABLE. 125

I am loth, dear reader, to leave this subject, till
I have prevailed with you to make it your main
business to seek this divine treasure. 0 that Jesus
Christ were formed in your hearts, and the life of
faith begun within you ! With this, you will be
fit for all conditions; without it, you will be fit for
nothing, and nothing will be fit for you. You will
make no shift in a hard time, and you will know
not how to improve happy times. The day of af-
fliction will swallow you up ; temptation will over-
throw you ; mercies will increase your guilt, and
judgments drive you to despair. You cannot
buckle to the easiest duties, nor apply the sweetest
promises. In life, you will be without joy; in
death, without hope. And how, then, will you
come off in the great day of account? " To whom
will ye flee for help, and where will ye leave your
glory?"

11*

CHAPTER IX.

DIRECTIONS RELATIVE TO HOLY PRINCIPLES.

My principal design is to furnish a directory for
the people of God in the cultivation of inward re-
ligion. And because it is a business of the great-
est moment to have and preserve, to use, improve,
and increase this treasure of the heart, I shall
dwell the more largely upon it, and arrange what
I have to say under these four general divisions.
First, By what means a Christian may be furnished
with a treasure of holy principles; Secondly, In
what way he may lay up truths, graces, comforts,
and experiences"; Thirdly, How he may preserve
and increase this treasure ; and. Fourthly, How he
is to draw it out and make use of it.

In the present chapter, I shall endeavor to
answer the first of these inquiries. How a Christian
may acquire a treasure of holy principles ? This
is the ''good treasure'^ chiefly intended in the
text; and with a view to its illustration, I shall
propose the following brief hints.

1. Labor to impress upon your hearts the reality
and rarity of the things of God. Cherish a tho-
(126)

HOLY PRINCIPLES. 127

rough and abiding conviction that there are such
things to be had, and that they are worth obtaining.
You must look upon them as infallibly certain, and
as incomparably excellent. Those ancient philoso-
phers were accounted sensual and brutish, who,
following Epicurus, placed the chief happiness of
man in objects of sense, such as wealth, pleasure,
and honor; while, on the other hand, they were
esteemed the most sublime, and, in a sort, divine,
who placed the highest good in what is above
sense, or opposite to it — as the endowments of the
luiud, and moral virtue. If heathen sages, by the
light of nature and reason alone, could see a reality
and excellency in things invisible to sense — shall
not Christians much more ? It is a shame for one,
who is favored with the light of revelation and the
teaching of the Spirit, to be so blear-eyed, as not
to be able to see afar off, and bring spiritual ob-
jects within the scope of his vision. It is alike
the duty and the characteristic of a Christian, to
look beyond the things which are seen and tem-
poral to those which are unseen and eternal. 0
could you as really discern, with a spiritual eye,
spiritual good, as with your natural eyes you can
behold natural good, what an advantage would it
be to you ! Could you make the mysteries and
mercies of the Gospel as tangible and as attractive
to your minds, as the bags and lands of a rich man

128 HEART-TREASURE.

are to him, what an exceeding help would it afford
you in overcoming the world, and in rising toward
heaven ! It was this which led Moses to forsake
the visible glory of Egypt, and to brave the intol-
erable hardships of the wilderness ; for " he en-
dured as seeing Him who is invisible.'^ Thus
Christians must realize divine things, and account
highly of them; since no man will seek to treasure
up what is neither palpable to his comprehension,
nor valuable in his regard. Indifference to the
grace of the Gospel is the great reason why so
many remain destitute of it. Thus, in the Parable
of the Marriage Supper, those, who refused to
come, are represented as making light of the invi-
tation which had been tendered to them; or, as
the word signifies, they would not give it a single
thought, but deemed it unworthy of their notice.
1 am persuaded that unbelief, or the want of a
thorough, settled, and effectual persuasion of the
truth of the Gospel, and of the real good contained
in its provisions, is the root of that gross atheism
and willful neglect which prevail in the world.
You must, then, give full assent to the certainty
of divine things, and venture your souls upon the
authority of Scripture. God's declaration must be
to you instead of all the demonstrations in the
world. You must take your stand on that impreg-
nable rock, " Thus saith the Lord;" and though

HOLY PRINCIPLES. 129

yoiT may not always discover the reason of tlie
tilings which you are required to believe, yet you
are to account it a sufficient warrant, that God hath
spoken them; for He cannot lie. He is too
righteous to deceive — too wise to be deceived. On
His word you may safely trust your immortal all.
O that I could persuade you to do this I Do not
put off these things with a slight notion, and a
mere conjectural opinion, but advance "to the
riches of the full assurance of understanding."
This is a strong expression ; but you cannot be too
sure in matters of such infinite moment. Your
staunchest confidence may be shaken; your firmest
persuasion may stagger; and, therefore, strive to
be as thoroughly grounded as possible, for accord-
ing to the degree of your affiance, will your graces
and duties ebb or flow, rise or fall. And not only
must you believe the truth of eternal realities;
you must also urge them upon your own hearts.
As Paul said, so must you ; ^' What shall we then
say to these things ?" Are they true, or are they
not? Are they worth thinking of, or are they
not ? Have I an interest in them, or have I not ?
O my soul! let me press thee to the serious view
of heavenly things. They are choice things, and
well deserve thy study ; rare things, wherein few
iaave actual interest, and yet so absolutely necessary,
that all must shar^ in them^ or he nndons forevec.

130 KKART-TKEARrRK,

2. lleserve tlij hoart for God, and resign h
wholly to Ilim. He dairas it. " My son, give
1110 thy heart." Let not thy dearest comforts, re-
lations, or companions have a predominating influ-
ence in tny soul. The heart is the chief tribute
that is due to God. Rob Him not of any part of
it. Clip not the King of Heaven's coin. As lines
converge to a centre, so sho-uld your affections be
directed vstholly and solely to God aod things
above. The Psiiluiist prays ; '' Teacb me thy way,
O Lord; I will wailk in thy truth; unite my heart
to fear thy name." The word, '''unite," imports
the making his henrt one. He would not have ?v.
heart, and a heart. A divided heart is no God-
fearing Leart. He that would patch up a content-
ment both with God and with the creature, cau
have no solid treasure; for the creature cannot,
and God will not fill such a heartless heart. Be-
sides, love must centre in one object. Like a p}'*-
raraid, it ends in a point. Affection is weakened
by dispersion, as a river is diminished by being
turned into many cha^neLs. You cannot serve
two masters. He, who would have a treasure of
any thing, intends that only ; he contracts his af-
fairs into a narrow compa&s, and makes that his
&ae aim. So must yoiiknit your thoughts together,
and fix them upon this sole object. It is a dan-
gerous tiling ta divide tl\c afl^ectioiiR betvfecw Gfod

HOLY TRTNCTPLES. 181

and the world; l;ke the people of Judah, who
isware by the Lord, and by Malcham, their king.
l>ut God regards that heart as not at all for Him,
which is not altogether for Ilim. Those nations
feared not the Lord, which joined Bis worship
with that of idols. There can no more be two
chief delights in one heart, than there can be two
suns in one firmament. Those hearts are winding
and crooked that are like the haven of Crete,
which lay directly towards two different points of
heaven. Cyrus took Babylon, by dividing the
river; and Satan will soon surprise us, if he can
but divide our hearts. If our hearts are divided,
we '' shall be found faulty." 0 let us take heed
of being voluntary cripples, and halting betweeo
two opinions. Let us not dismember ourselves by
being half-hearted. God is infinite; Christ is
complete; spiritual things are most excellent ; and
these deserve the whole heart. Resign yourselves,
therefore, to God, resolutely, unreservedly, univer-
sally. As he that loseth his life for God shall find
it ; so he only receives his heart as good and worth
having, who gives it to God; for He takes it to
make it better. Thus even a heathen Socrates
could say to a scholar, who had nothing to give
him but himself; '' For this reason I receive thee,
that I may restore thee to thyself improved in
value." Give God your hearts, and He will fur-

132 HEART-TREASURE.

nish them with a treasure. Commit your souls
into His hands, and He will both commit a trea-
sure to you, and will also keep that which you
commit to Him, till the great day of His appear-
ing. He will preserve both the case and the
jewel, the body and the soul. The least atom of
dust shall not be lost. How much more will He
graciously preserve that good work of grace, and
those fruits of the Spirit, which He has begun
within you. I beseech you, then, to choose Him
as your supreme portion. Keep no corner of your
hearts for a stranger, but yield all to the Lord.
Deliver the keys of your hearts into His hands.
Let the King of Glory enter in, and His glorious
train will fill the temple of your souls. He is a
treasure wherever He comes. Christians are called
God's temple, His house, His peculiar and dearly
purchased habitation. It is, therefore, gross sacri-
lege to rob Him of His house, or to keep Him out
of doors. ^'The soul of a believer," says Jerome,
^' is the true temple of Christ ; adorn and furnish
that; to that ofi'er gifts ; into it receive Christ."
In a word, the sum and marrow of all true reli-
gion consist in a heart wholly dedicated to God,
through the mediation of His Son, and the renew-
ing work of His Spirit.

3. Live by faith upon Jesus Christ. The
lively actings of faith upon the Mediator of the

HOLY PRINCIPLES. 166

New Covenant will till your souls with a quicken-
ing and saving power. God has appointed Christ
to be the store-house of His Church. Now, faith
is the hand that brings supplies from Christ to the
heart. By faith, the soul is engrafted into this
true Olive, and draws fatness from it. Christ
dwells in the heart by faith, and still more of
Christ is fetched in by faith. All the means of a
Christian's life depend for their efficiency on the
exercise of faith. Hence the righteous are said to
'' live by faith, ^' because they are fed and nourished
from Christ through the medium of faith. Faith
empties the heart, and so makes room for Christ,
and then lays hold of Him and compels Him to
mrn into the heart. And our dear Saviour is
willingly conquered by the strength of faith. Faith
/^ the key that opens the chest where treasures lie,
?.nd the hand that brings them into the heart.
Faith opens the heart to receive riches of grace;
and that man hath a closed heart, who has not the
key of faith. 0 strive for a large measure of
faith ! The more faith you have, the richer you
are ; for faith is itself a precious treasure, and the
chief instrument of endowing the soul with all
spiritual treasures. Truths cannot be a treasure
in our minds to profit our hearts, unless they are
mixed with this vital ingredient. All the graces of
the Spirit attend this queen of the graces. Experi-
12

134 HEART-TREASURE.

euccs cannot be gathered or improved without
fiiith; and that comfort is but a fancy, which is
not ushered in by the assurance of faith. Faith is
the great bucket to draw water out of the wells of
salvation, and the more faith you bring, the larger
supplies will you receive. Would you have your
hearts stored with a heavenly treasure ? Strive,
then, to increase your faith, and let the Lord Jesus
be the direct object of your faith. It is He alone
who hath the key of David, and can both open
heaven to us, and a heavenly treasure for us
Since the fall, we can have no converse with God,
or communication from Him, but through the
Mediator. " It is a terrible thing,'' says Luther,
^' even to think of God out of Christ." You must
''honor the Son even as you honor the Father;"
and as you believe in God, so must you also believe
in Christ, the God-man; — that as our nature in
Christ's person is filled with all that our souls can
want, so from that fullness we may receive all
things needful for us in time, and in eternity. 0,
stir up and quicken your faith ! Come, poor soul,
reach hither thy hand of faith, and thrust it into
thy Saviour's pierced side, and there thou mayest
feel, and thence fetch abundant fruits of love.
'' Be not faithless but believing." Do not dam up
the channels of grace by unbelief. Do not forsake
thy own mercies, by being shy and fearful to vcn-

HOLY PRiNCirLES, 135

ture. Thou canst lose nothing, — thou mayest
gain much by one single act of faith. 0,onc pure
act of a lively faith will bring you in more trea-
sure; than many hours tugging and struggling in
duties and performances! Nothing in the world
can shoot a bar, and bolt the door betwixt Christ
and the heart, but unbelief. If thou believest, all
things are possible; but unbelief hinders the
workings and operations of grace. Away with all
distrust; give full scope to faith; break through
the doubts and questionings of thy unbelieving
heart ; lie low under the sad sense of thine insuffi-
ciency, and the sweet apprehension of Christ's all-
sufficiency. Humbly stretch forth the trembling
hand of thy weak faith. Though thou hast many
misgivings of spirit, yet say, with tears, ^' Lord, I
believe, help Thou mine unbelief. I am no more
able of myself to put forth one saving act of justi-
fying faith, than I am to fulfill all righteousness,
and keep the whole law; but the grace of the
Gospel has undertaken to do that which it requires
to be done. Lord, I roll myself upon Thee. I
come to Thee by faith. Do not cast me off. Do
not cast me out as a broken vessel, in which Thou
hast no pleasure, bat fill me with the abundant
riches of Thy grace, which will redound to Thy
glory, and my soul's abundant comfort." Thus do
and prosper ; thus believe, and be thou filled, poor,

136 HEART-TREASUEE.

wanting soul. " For whatsoever you ask believing,
you shall receive/'

4. Cherish in your hearts the grace of love.
That noble grace is of an expatiating and extensive
nature. Heaven is the fittest room for its exercise,
and eternity for its duration. He that loves much
will not be content with a little, and God will not
put him off with a little. The more the soul is
filled with love, the more it is filled with Grod,
*^for God is love/' and can a man have a better
treasure than God Himself? If you love God,
"He will come in unto you, and make His abode
with you:" and can the soul be more sweetly in-
habited ? Love makes room in the heart for more
grace. He that loveth much, because much is
forgiven him, shall enjoy yet fuller proofs of the
Divine mercy. The love of Christ is, indeed, said
"to constrain us" — to straiten and shut us in;
but that is from other objects, that the soul may
have freer scope for Him. This love diverts the
affections from running in earthly channels, that
it may pour them, in one united stream, upon the
Saviour. It captivates the soul for Christ, and
forces it to do and to endure all for Him who is
the Fountain of its hopes and joys. It widens the
arms to embrace Christ, enlarges the heart to en-
tertain Him, and invigorates the hands to labor
for Him. In the Songs of Solomon, Christ is de-

HOLY PRINCIPLES. 137

scribed as riding in a glorious and triumphant
chariot. Whether this refer to His personal cha-
racter, or to His mystical body — to His human
nature, or to His Church, which He fills with His
presence — I shall not venture to decide; but sure
I am, that '^ the midst thereof is paved with love.''
A soul, decorated with the sparkling gems of love,
is the fittest receptacle for Christ. He, who is
love itself, most freely commits the largest treasure
to a loving disciple ; as He bequeathed His mother
to John, when expiring on the cross; and, after
His resurrection, unfolded to him, and to him
alone, the destinies of His Church to the end of
time. 0 how freely do a loving Saviour and a
loving saint open their hearts to each other ! How
close, and sweet, and endearing is their commu-
nion ! The pure flame of a saint's love mounts up
to Christ, and there meeting with the heavenly
Element of perfect Love, is kindled into yet more
glowing fervor ; and still these continued outgoings
of love to Grod bring in successive incomes and
enlargements of grace. Every act of love exhales
away some corrupt vapor, and dilates the faculties
of the soul, that it may be fit for the reception of
more grace. Love, indeed, sets the scJul on edge
for more, and makes it as insatiate as it is un-
wearied in its endeavors to obtain more. " Faith
worketh by love," as its hand to act for God; and
12*

138 HEART-TREASURE.

love works by faith, as its hand to receive all from
God. Faith incites love to crave, and love engages
faith to draw, fuller and still fuller blessings from
the Infinite Source of all good.

And as love thus helps the soul to a treasure of
graces, so it aids it in the acquisition of truth.
Love to the doctrines of the Gospel leads the soui
to look upon them as a precious deposit; to pon-
der them much and deeply ; and thus to rivet and
clench them in the mind by meditation. Love also
prepares a man to " contend earnestly for the faith
once delivered to the saints 3" to maintain it, to
propagate it, and, if needful, to die for it. Hence,
love is one of the hands by which we are to ^^ hold
fast the form of sound words.^' But he, who re-
ceives not the truth in love, will never regard it as
a treasure, but will be ready to exchange it for a
lie, or to barter it for a lust. Let me, therefore,
entreat you to cherish this grace. Meditate much
on the love of Christ. Let His love awaken
yours ; and when the spark is thus kindled, blow
it into a flame. Content not yourselves with a low
degree of love to God. Love Him with an intense,
supreme, all-absorbing love. Let the measure of
your love tb Him be beyond measure. Let your
hearts continually ascend to Him in the incense
of holy desire. Love Him more than your enjoy-
ments, more than your friends, more than yourselves.

HOLY PRINCIPLES. 139

5. Walk humbly with God. A holy deport-
ment is the best means of spiritual culture. God
communicates most to those who walk closest with
Illm. A master will entrust a larger talent to a
faithful and a careful servant, for such a one is a
credit to him, and promotes his designs. Bringing
forth much fruit glorifies God and benefits men ;
and surely the Lord will dignify such fruitful
vines with more care in dressing, and yet more of
His blessing to help their abundant fruit bearing.
They shall have clearer discoveries of God's will,
v/ho carefully do it; and such as keep His com-
mandments have right to the tree of life, that they
may come to it when they please, and eat abun-
dantly, and live forever. There is an incompara-
ble advantage in living near to God. In obedience
to Him there is this reward, that every act of obe-
dience increases the ability to obey. Every step
reneweth strength. Saints go from strength to
strength, for the way of the Lord is strength to
the upright. Nothing at once so manifests and so
increases grace, as a devout and holy life. As He,
who hath called you is holy, be ye, therefore, holy,
in all manner of conversation.

Let me also persuade you to be very humble.
" God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto
the humble." Humility is not only a grace, but
a vessel to receive more grace. The high and

1-iO HEART-TREASURE.

lofty One stoops to the contrite and lowly heart.
The King of heaven loves to walk upon this
blessed pavement. *' Blessed are the poor in spi-
rit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;'^ and
such a soul is the fittest receptacle for the precious
riches of this kingdom. Much of the riches of
the ancients consisted in their garments. In like
manner, a Christian's treasure lies much in his
vesture. Of this, one part is the mantle of Christ's
imputed righteousness, which covers all defects
and imperfections. Another part is composed of
inner garments, girded to the soul by the girdW
of truth and sincerity. These are the garments,
of sanctification ; one choice portion of which ii
humility. ^' Be clothed with humility." Humilit/
is the sacred ligament which tics together the pre-
cious pearls of divine grace, and if this break, they
are all scattered. Humility is the guardian and
the ornament of every Christian virtue. Hence
Basil calls humility " the magazine of all good.''
0 that we all were walking humbly and holily
with God ! Then should we quickly have our
hearts filled with this blessed treasure. Conse-
cration, in the time of the law, was symbolized by
filling the hand ; but under the Gospel, he that is
consecrated to God shall have his heart filled.
Especially, shall they who are emptied of all self-
conceit, be filled with much of God's fullness.

HOLY PRINCIPLES. 141

While the high mountaiu is bleak and barren, the
low-lying valley is covered with rich harvests.

Humility is likewise the fittest disposition for
receiving and cherishing divine truths. These
choice grafts thrive best in a low ground. A meek
heart vrill bid truth welcome; for it looks upon
every truth as infinitely above itself, and is, there-
fore, prepared to fall down before it, in prompt
and cordial submission. An humble believer owns
the authority of God in His word, wherever he
finds it, whoever brings it, so that even a little
child may lead him by a single thread of Scripture.
But proud men and truth can never agree; for
they scorn to put their necks under the yoke of
truth, and truth will not stay where it cannot
rule. Those were proud men who would not obey
the truth proclaimed by Jeremiah ; and, therefore,
the prophet must take down their crests before
they could be right disciples of truth. And it
deserves to be well considered, that a proud man
is always a loser, in the account both of God and
men, and in his natural or acquired accomplish-
ments. The more he plumes himself on imaginary
attainments, the more is he disqualified for real
ones. The stomach may be so stufi'ed with nox-
ious things, as to be incapable of receiving whole-
some food, or of deriving nourishment from it.
This, however, is not the fullness of health, but

142 HEART-TREASURE.

the inflation of disease. Thus it is with the self-
exalted soul. The swellings of pride shut out
from it both grace and truth. 0, then, be humble
and self-denied. Entertain a lively sense of your
own defects. Be nothing in your own eyes, and
you will be much in God's. You will become
temples for the High and Holy One to dwell in j
and He will fill you with abundant grace here,
and with glory hereafter.

6. Be much in prayer, especially in secret
prayer. Pray fervently, and pray constantly.
That is, maintain, at all times, a prayerful spirit,
and lay hold on every fit season for its exercise.
When prayer ceases, the work of religion in the
heart stands still, or goes backward. All grace
comes into the soul by this channel. It is of
great importance, that you should observe set
periods of prayer, and that these periods should
be frequent. David and Daniel prayed three times
a day, and in extraordinary cases seven times. It
is not lost labor to be much on our knees. We
cannot go to God more often than our wants re-
quire. Nor can we go more often than we shall
be welcome, if we go aright; for the Holy of
Holies is ever open, and our great High Priest ever
lives to make intercession for us. There is a kind
of omnipotence in prayer. The man, who is
mighty in prayer, has a key to the very treasure-

HOLY PRINCIPLES. 143

house of heaven. His hand grasps the pillars of
the eternal throne, and brings down into his own
feeble heart the strength of the Infinite. He has
power with God, and prevails. Hence it was said
of Luther, that he could do with God even what
he would. 0, then, let me adjure thee to be con-
stant and instant in prayer. What though thou
seemest now to gain little thereby; yet wait on
God still. Tradesmen will go to markets and
fairs, and set open their shop doors and windows,
though many times there is little present profit to
be made. So let the Christian keep this market
of holy duties, and frequent the celestial exchange,
to see what good bargain he can meet with for his
soul. Maintain uninterrupted your commerce with
heaven, lest you lose it altogether. What though
you often feel in no fitting frame for prayer; never-
theless, venture upon the duty, and try what God
will do with you. It is the folly of our trifling
hearts to put oflf duty when they want spirit for it,
hoping to be in better tune at another time. But
can one sin excuse another? Or can present ne-
glect prepare us for future obedience ? Will not
disuse make us more and more loth to go to God?
And, on the other hand, is it not a fact, verified
both by Scripture and experience, that a dead and
discouraged entrance upon duty will often end in
Bweet enlargements and ravishments of spirit?

144 HEART-TREASURE.

Usually, a sincere and strenuous endeavor to over-
come the reluctance of our souls, and force them
into converse with heaven, will result in great
freedom of access to God, and in close and refresh-
ing communion with Him. God will bring near
to Himself the soul that thus earnestly strives to
reach Him. None ever lost their labor in strug-
gling with their untoward hearts. 0 Christian !
cease not from prayer, though you come hardly to
it, and have much ado to keep at it, and must
wrestle mightily to get any thing by it. Though
with Jonathan and his armor-bearer you clamber
up the hill, and fight when you mount the top ;
yet you shall gain the victory, and the spoils of
such a conflict will be the most enriching. One
sight of Christ, from the summit of Pisgah thus
gained, will compensate a thousand fold the toil
and difficulty of the ascent. And even should
you not meet with God as you desire at that time,
yet He may own and crown your endeavor to do
so, as much as the most heart-melting exercise, be-
cause the former has in it more of obedience, and
because conscience of duty is as acceptable a mo-
tive to duty as the sense of present recompense.

But, withal, maintain secret prayer. Enter
often into your closet. God is wont to dispense
His choicest blessings to the soul in its seasons
of retirement. It was when Jacob was left alone,

HOLY TRINCIPLES. 145

that he wrestled with the Angel of the Covenant,
and prevailed. It was when Ezekiel was alone
by the river of Chebar, and John in the isle of
Patmos, that visions and revelations from heaven
came to brighten their solitude. Solomon has,
indeed, said, "Woe to him that is alone;" but, in
a different sense, we may say, blessed is he that
being alone hath God to keep him company. As
our Saviour, when forsaken by His disciples, was
not alone because the Father was with Him; so
we, when most withdrawn from the world, have
most converse with God. Separation from the
engrossments of business, and from the din and
bustle of society, leaves the soul more open to divine
impressions; sunders the cords that bind it to
earth; and gives it freedom to soar upward to
heaven on the wings of holy aspiration. Be,
therefore, much alone with God. Pour out your
hearts before Him in secret places, and He will
meet with you, and make many a solitary spot a
Bethel to your souls, and surround it with the hal-
lowed memories of divine communion. Think not
to seek and find Christ in a crowd. He walks not
in the dusty road of the multitude, nor amidst the
noisy haunts of traffic, nor in the thronged paths
of levity and dissipation; but on the lone mountain-
side, by the silent shore, beneath the shade of over-
hanging woods ; and there He best loves to meet
13

146 HEART-TREASURE.

His followers, and cheer them witli the tolwns of
His grace. 0 sweet and healing is secret prayer,
when the heart, oppressed with a burden which
none but God must know, and none but God can
remove, retires with Him apart, and lays down the
load at His feet, and pours all its anxieties into
His pitying bosom, where no eye but His can see,
and no ear but His can hear ! There you may use
postures, expressions, pleadings, that might not be
suitable in the presence of others. There you may
lay open those hidden wants and solicitudes, which
you may not reveal to your dearest earthly friend.
Let me, then, again urge you to go often in secret
to God. Toll Him your whole heart; hide no-
thing from Him ; plead no excuse from worldly
business, nor even from other religious duties,
Satan and your own depravity will find many occa-
sions for diversion; but say to them as Abraham
did to his servants, '^ Abide ye here, and I will go
yonder and worship." Steal time from the world
and its engagements, for frequent intercourse with
God, and He will shed over all your outward
walks the light of His presence and guidance.
" Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut
thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ;
and thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward
thee openly." Observe such Christians as con-
verse much with God in private, and you will see

HOLY PRINCIPLES. 147

their faces shine as did that of Moses^ when he
came down from his solitary communings with
Grod in the mount. When Elijah sought to raise
to life the dead son of the widow of Sarepta, he
" carried him into a loft/' and there praj^ed. So,
when thou wouldst quicken thy dead heart, take
it into seclusion, stretch thyself upon it, fall on
thy face and pray, and the breath of spiritual life
shall revisit it from on high. Cyprian has very
beautifully described the benefit and delight which
he found in retired prayer and meditation. '^ That
no profane listener may hinder my musings, and
no domestic clamor drown them, I withdraw to
a recess in the neighboring solitude, where the
creeping tendrils of the young vines form a shady
arbor.' — Behold ! there I obtain a feeling of truth
which learning could not give, and drink in, from
the quick impartings of divine grace, stores of
heavenly thought, which long years of study could
never supply. '^

7. In order to obtain this treasure, strive to
carry a spiritual frame into every religious per-
formance. Be not satisfied with the bare outside
of duties, or with trudging the common round of
formality. If you look not beyond the outward
use of ordinances, you will gain no real and sub-
stantial profit. He that would be spiritually rich
must employ duties as a vehicle to bring his soul

148 HEART-TREASURE.

to God, and to bring God to his soul. Every
ordinance should be like the merchant ship that
brings gold and gems from afar. The Christian
must travel far beyond the Indies, even as far as
heaven, to fetch a heavenly treasure into his
heart. " The soul of the diligent shall be made
fat.'^ It is not a show of eating, nor merely a sit-
ting at the table, that will satisfy the cravings of
hunger. A pretence of trading makes not rich.
He who stands motionless on a bridge will never
get over the water. It is not the goodness of the
bridge, but our progress by it, that carries us to
the other side. A golden bucket will bring us no
water, unless it be let down into the well. So the
choicest ordinances will bring us no spiritual be-
nefit, unless we find the Saviour in them. God's
institutions work not by any inherent physical
virtue, but morally, that is, by a careful improve-
ment of them, and especially by the blessing of
God with them. A man is not a good scholar
merely because he went to school so long, and
said so many lessons; nor is an ignorant Papist
a whit the better for dropping so many beads,
and pattering over so many paternosters. '' Bodily
exercise,'' says the apostle, '' profiteth little/'
And in this he refers not only to recreations or
superstitious usages, but even to scriptural ordi-
nances when observed as mere forms. Such an

HOLY PRINCIPLES. 149

attendance on them will not advantage the soul.
" But godliness is profitable unto all things.'' The
devout, spiritual worship of God brings with it
abundant benefits. True religious worshippers " sow
to the Spirit," and, therefore, they " shall of the
Spirit reap life everlasting," in addition to the in-
ward refreshments which they reap in this life.
Thus in " godliness," or the sincere worship and
service of God, there is great reward both of pre-
sent comfort, and of future glory.

But it is easier to be much in duties, than to be
much with God in duties. If wc had been as much
with God as we have been before God, our religious
state would now be very different. Job was per-
suaded that if he could find God, and come near
to His seat, He would not plead against him with
His great power, but would put strength in him.
And truly, if thou couldst meet with God in duty,
He would meet thee in mercy; and if God meet
thee, He will bless thee, and fill thy soul with a
glorious treasure of heavenly blessings. If thou
draw nigh to God, He will draw nigh to thee.
Let me, then, persuade you to make conscience of
earnestly seeking communion with God, and influ-
ence from Him, in all the public and private exer-
cises of religion. You will lose much if you fail
to have the Divine presence in these duties. You
will take God's name in vain, and lose your labors
13*

150 HEART-TREASURE.

nay, you will lose a blessing, and incur the curse
of doing the work of the Lord deceitfully. But 0
how blessed is it to be able to say with holy Ber-
nard, " I never come to God, but I meet with
God; I never go from God, but I carry God
with me.^' In all your approaches to God, there-
fore, study to b^ serious, devout, spiritual. That
you may be so^ carefully prepare your minds by
previous reflection and self-examination. When
you come before Him, give yourselves sincerely
and fervently to the work of worshipping and
praising Him. Watch your hearts ; rouse up every
sluggish feeliDg; recall every wandering affection;
and let a somY\ of the majesty, holiness, and glory
of the great Being in whose presence you are,
absorb all yo.ur powers, and fill you with emotions
of holy revcience and love. When you retire from
communir^/^ with Him, diligently review the ser-
vice in w^jich you have been engaged, to see how
it has been with your souls ; to learn what light
yoti h^ve received, or what communications of
streQ;f/th and comfort have been vouchsafed to you.
Happy will it be for 3^ou, if in tracing the connec-
tion between your obedience and your enjoyments,
you can say as David did ; " This I had, because
I kept Thy precepts.'^ What had he ? A heart
to remember God's name in the night — holy
thoughts, and seraphic meditations on divine things.

nOLY PRINCIPLES. 151

Worship aad serve God as he did, and you will be
able to say, in reference to fresh experiences of the
Divine goodness, these I received in such a duty
or ordinance, and these furnish me with heavenly
conceptions, and new matter for Joy and praise.
Never lose sight, however, even for an instant, of
the great truth, that the Spirit of God alone can
make ordinances effectual. Although the Gospel
is the ministration of the Spirit, yet, without His
direct and special influence, the choicest truths, and
the most impressive exhibition of them, will be but
a dead letter. Invoke, therefore, the Spirit to
breathe upon the garden of your souls, that the
precious spices of divine grace may flourish, and
difi'use their hallowed odors through your hearts
and lives. Ordinances are empty cisterns, if God
be not in them. But filled with His presence,
they become vehicles of rich and saving blessings.
O, then, seek to have God with you in every
spiritual performance;.

8. Make a wise improvement of time. Lose
not a particle of this invaluable treasure. Fill up
all your spare hours with some profitable employ-
ment in your general or particular callings. Cast
Qot ayray the least filings of these goMea seasons.
You have wasted too much time already. Now
i-cdeem the remainder ; engross this precious com-
modity ; f^r the period is at hand wh^n a single

152 HEAKT-TKEASURE.

moment may be to you of more worth than a world.
Imitate such tradesmen as miss no opportunity of
getting gain at home or abroad, by night or by day,
by devising plans, or putting them in practice;
only make use of present moments, and promise
not to yourselves to-morrow, as worldly tradesmen
are apt to do, and be sure that you take G-od with
you, whom they forget and leave behind. Take
Time by the forelock, for he is bald behind, and
you cannot grasp him there. You little know
what a day may bring forth. It may pr^Miucc a
burden of more duty, difficulty, or misers, than
you have hitherto met with. To redeem *ime is
the part of true wisdom ; but the neglect of time
has filled the last hours of multitudes with bitter
and unavailing regrets. An apostle said,, more
than a thousand years ago, ^^The time is short.''
Much more may we say so, when now the fihip is
drawing so much nearer the harbor, when the sails
are contracted, and the voyage well nigh over.
" The end of all things is at hand/' Tha world
grows old and naught. Your own days caxxnot be
long. This very night thy soul may be required
of thee. Then a treasure for another woHd will
stand you in infinite stead. O consider, oft-en and
solemnly, that this spaa of life, this inch oi time,
is the seminary of eternity, the prelude to aa ever-
iasting state I Liivlsk i^ not away in a brutish

HOLY PRINCIPLES. 153

prodigality You will have little time enough
when you come to die. A rich voluptuary, at
death, cried out bitterly, " Call time again ! O,
call time again !'^ But time came not back at his
bidding. Another offered a thousand pounds to
purchase a single day. But, alas ! time, once
gone, cannot be reclaimed. The gold of Ophir
could not buy back one misspent day. You have
but your appointed time, and that is in the hand
of God, and if you sc^uander it, it is lost to you
forever. The dead and damned may say of time,
'• We have heard the fame thereof with our ears ;"
but never more shall they behold it. When your
glass is run, and your sun set, you will have no
more opportunity to prepare and gather store for
eternity; and therefore, "Whatsoever thy hand
findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no
work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in
the grave whither thou goest.'^ Be not like those
silly " fishes that are taken in an evil net,^' because
" they know not their time •/' but live in constant
readiness for the final and all-decisive hour, which
may " fall suddenly upon'^ you. Let no day pass
without drawing some line towards your great
centre. You that are Christians have need to be
" good stewards'^ of time. The holiest men have
ever been the most careful of time, and they
who have been the most fearful of losing even the

154 HEART-TREASURE.

smallest portion of it, have attained to the highest
eminence in religion. History and observation
will alike show you, that the choicest spirits have
always been most diligent in improving time.
Some have accounted that day as lost, in which
they had done no good either with tongue, or pen,
or purse; and even heathens have bewailed, as
spent in vain, the day in which they had performed
no memorable action. How much more ought
Christians to lament the loss of time ? I once
heard an eminent minister say on his death-bed,
that nothing in the review of his past life gave him
so much pain, as the thought of his lost hours. So
it is with us all. AVe lose time, and then smart
for it. Like the mole, which naturalists tell us
begins to see at death, we open our eyes only when
they are about to be closed forever. Let us, there-
fore, husband time well, while we have it, and
study to lay up every day something which may
contribute to the welfare of our souls, and increase
our spiritual riches. Like Mary, let us be always
receiving good, and, like Christ, be always doing
good. Were we constantly thus employed, our
treasure would soon be raised to a large proportion,
and we should be sooner ripe for glory.

9. Strive to gather spiritual instruction from
every thing. That man is likely to be rich, who
is sagacious and prompt in turning all opportuni-

HOLY rRINCIl'LES. 155

ties to good account. A wise tradesman despises
not little things, for the multiplication of small
numbers produces a great sum. They who will-
fully contemn the smallest good, will in time look
upon the greatest as contemptible. Hence it is,
that Christ says, '^ Gather up the fragments that
nothing be lost.'^ Thus should you collect and
preserve those little things, which others cast away.
Endeavor to gain something from every word, rod,
or work of Divine Providence, whether it relate to
judgment or to mercy. " Receive not the grace
of God in vain." Hinder not your own proficiency
by carelessness or inadvertence. Be diligent, and
God will teach you to profit. See what you can
make of es^erything you meet with. A wise phy-
sician can tell the virtue of every simple, and ex-
tract healing power out of herbs, which an igno-
rant person would reject as useless weeds. " Wise
men lay up knowledge -/' that is, they gather from
every thing profitable reflections, which they store
up fur future use. So must you do, if you would
increase in solid and intelligent piety. Be not
unwise, hnt understand what the will of the Lord
is, by all ihat your eyes behold, or your ears hear.
Learn to take lessons from all the creatures — to
suck sweetness from every flower, not for sensual
delightj but for spiritual profit. Not an event can
happen which may not instruct you. Let not a

156 HEART-TREASURE.

good or a bead report reach you concerning your-
selves or others, without special observation and
improvement. Whatever be your calling in life,
you may and must spiritualize it, and make it a
source of good to your souls. There is no proper
occupation which may not assist us in the know-
ledge of God or of ourselves; so that we need
never be at a loss for profitable subjects of thought,
wherever we are, and however employed. Study
to distil, by a heavenly chemistry, holy teachings
from all the objects and circumstances which sur-
round you. Every thing will do you good, if only
your hearts are right. The sins of others will lead
you to scrutinize your own standing, and to take
heed lest you also fall. The aflBictions of others
will move your sympathy, awaken prayer, and call
forth beneficence. The wrongs and indignities,
which you may suffer, will discipline your patience,
afford scope for the spirit of forgiveness, and sum-
mon you to a closer imitation of your blessed
Master, " who, when He was reviled, reviled not
again, when He suffered, threatened not,^' but met
the rage of His murderers with the prayer, '^ Fa-
ther, forgive them, for they know not what they
do." Thus every scene of nature, every diversity
of human experience, every unfolding of Provi-
dence, will be fraught with instruction, pointing
you to God and heaven.

HOLY PRINCIPLES. 157

But, above all, labor to derive practical benefit
from whatever you read in the Sacred Oracles.
Scripture, well digested, will furnish you with
matter for prayer, for private meditation, and for
religious conversation. It will supply you with
arguments against the sophistries of infidelity, with
antidotes to the seductions of the world, and with
directions and motives in every department of the
Christian life. In order, however, that your study
of the Scriptures may prove thus useful, you must
not run cursorily over them, but let your thoughts
dwell upon their meaning, and seek to extract
their marrow and essence. These golden mines
lie deep, and are reached only by deep digging.
Most persons read the Scriptures, as travellers go
over mountains full of precious minerals ; they see
the surfiice, but perceive not the sparkling wealth
beneath. The mere words of the Bible, slightly
considered, have no great efficacy ; but their sense
and purport contain spirit and life to the observant
and studious reader. There is such a depth in the
Book of Grod, that you may read the same passage
a hundred times, and, at each time, receive fresh
ideas and impressions from it. 0 then, learn to
read, to ponder, and to digest this Book of books —
this depository of all wisdom, both for " the life
that now is, and for that which is to come.'' Thus
will you be ^^ enriched in all utterance; and in all
14

158 HEART-TREASURE.

knowledge/' and be "full of goodness, able also
to admonish one another.'' Christian knowledge
is fed by scriptural truth; Christian holiness is the
counterpart of scriptural precepts ; Christian graces
are the accomplishment of scriptural promises;
and if your comforts and experiences do not corres-
pond to these, " it is because there is no light in you."
10. Maintain communion with the saints. " For-
sake not the assembling of yourselves together, as
the manner of some is." The fellowship of be-
lievers is kept up by the social interchange of
pious thought and feeling, and by the public ordi-
nances of the Gospel. For the first, you are to
observe the counsel of Solomon, to " walk with the
wise." David professed himself a companion of
them that fear God ; and, though he was a great
king, yet he esteemed the saints more excellent
than all his mighty warriors and grave senators,
and declared that in their society was all his de-
light. But it is not enough to be in good company,
unless you improve it by profitable discourse.
" Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water ;
but a man of understanding will draw it out."
Men of profound thought and experience are apt to
be silent, and must, therefore, be drawn to unlock
their stores by appropriate questions ; and to pro-
pound useful questions seasonably is an evidence
of knowledge, as well as to answer them solidly.

HOLT PRINCIPLES. 159

" Doubts -well raised do lock

The speaker to tliee, and preserve thy stock."

It is our great loss that we make no better uso
of eacli other. Unimproved intercourse is the bane
of Christian society. When we meet one another,
and trifle away time without advantage, it increases
our guilt, and discourages our hearts, insomuch
that we are almost willing to meet no more, since
our coming together is for the worse and not for
the better. Many times, indeed, our spirits, in-
stead of being cheered and strengthened by mutual
love, are embittered by exasperating contentions.
This is not keeping the fellowship of saints, but
endangering and impairing it. In contrast with
such unseemly disputings, when you meet with
pious friends, improve the time in conversation
fruited to make you wiser and better. Spend not
all your fleeting hours about news or worldly af-
fairs, or in ^' questions that gender strife. '' Talk
sometimes as Christians, and not always as earth-
lings, or as polemics. Many are apt enough to
cast down the bone of contention; but do you
rather present the marrow of religion, that you
may edify one another. Sit not together as mutes,
or as men of the world discoursing about matters
of state, or trade, or agriculture, or the weather;
but if there be ever a wise man among you, let him
fetch some spark from heaven, and throw it in tlie

160 HEART-TREASURE.

midst, that every one may bring liis stick to tlie
fire, and by the breath of mutual love, raise it to a
flame that shall v/arm your hearts, and make them
even burn within you, as did the hearts of the two
disciples, when Christ met them on the way to
Emmaus, and opened to them the Scriptures. And
whatever increased knowledge of truth or direction
in duty you may thus acquire, carefully treasure
up for future use. Kecollect, however, that your
principal object should be, not to furnish your
heads with arguments for all subjects and all com-
panies, but to have your hearts made better, your
graces invigorated, your lusts weakened, your lives
reformed, and your consciences resolved. 0 what
advantage may you not gain from Christian society,
when directed to such an end ! From serious
conversation you derive this two-fold result; you
do good to others, and receive good from others.
The benefit which you impart is reflected back
upon yourself. Scholars find that conversation
rubs up their memories, revives their reading,
gives them mastery over their ideas, and imprints
afresh what was almost obliterated. A man of
distinguished learning, after a long discourse with
one greatly his inferior, returned him many thanks
for the opportunity he had afibrded him of recalling
his past studies; and a celebrated Jewish doctor
was wont to say, he had leai-ned much from his

HOLY PBINCIPLES. 161

masters, more from his equals, but most of all from
his scholars. Hence arose the proverb, " I have
learned by teaching/' Experience tells us that,
having to do with the doubts, temptations, deser-
tions, and corruptions of others, instructs us how
to deal with our own. Be not backward, there-
fore, in h<3lping the weak, because thereby you
serve both them and yourselves; by one act, as it
were, feeding others, and digesting your own food-
Besides, this Christian communion, being an ap-
pointment of God, is followed by His blessing and
gracious acceptance. The members of Christ's
mystical body, ^' speaking the truth in love, grow
up into Him in all things, who is the head, even
Christ; from whom the whole body, fitly joined
together, and compacted by that which every joint
gupplieth, according to the effectual working in the
measure of every part, maketh increase of the body
unto the edifying of itself in love." What is
lacking in one member is supplied by another, and
thus, by mutual giving and receiving, the entire
brotherhood is strengthened, consolidated, and ad-
vanced in knowledge and holiness. A live coal,
laid to a dead one, kindles it ; a ripe grape, placed
beside a green one, ripens it. Company is of an
assimilating nature, — and grace, like fire, will beget
its like. When believers meet together for spirit-
ual purposes, Christ maets with them; go&s from
14*

162 TfF.ART-TTlEA;^tTKE.

heart to heart ; iRf|uires into tbeir wants ; an(?,
Jf>S€pli-like, fills their sacks with treasure. Where
Christ keeps hov^e^ nothiog is waiting ; He that
girded Himself te serve His disciples ^syill wait to
Ibe gracious^ and satisfy hungry souls. Aad while
this fraternal intercciirse of the pious is thus a
source of iiictilcalable good to those who Koaintain
%ty it is at the same time aa ofFering highly pleasing
to God. "Then they that feared the Lord spake
often one to aaothor ; and the Lord hearkened and
Kcard it, and a book of lemembranee was writteo
l)of6re Hina for them that feared the Lord, and
>hat thought liipon His name.'' Go forth, there-
fore, poor soul, " by the footsteps of the floek, and
iced the kids beside tl>e shepherds'' tents/' Min-
gle with the people of God when they assemble
for social prayer and edification, and yon will find
your spiritual strength renewed. Maintain eoni-
Mi union with them, also, in the more piiblic ordi-
nances of religion. These are expressly appointed
for youi» instruetioQ in righteousness, and the es-
tablishment of your Christian character. Every
part of the service of God's house,. — ^prayer, praise,
the reading of Scripture, the word preached, the
sacraiBente administered,— will help to fill your
souls. Yo'd may get good by baptism and the
Lord's Supper, faithfully used, and believinsily
uapa'OYed; and, thcvefsive^, let every one who w^u'-d

HOLY PRTNCIPLEf^. 168

have a treasure of grace, rightly observe these holy
ordinances. It is, nevertheless, important for you
to remember, that tliough these ordinances are
necessary, and the great means of spiritual life,
yet not in that manner and respect in which food
is tc a natural life, because they contain in them-
selves no vital force or efficacy. They are not
physical, but moral instruments of salvation. They
were instituted by God as symbols of great and
saving truths, and when received by us agreeably
to His command, and in a right temper of mind,
they become, through the blessing of His Spirit,
powerful means of enlarging our conceptions of the
grace of the Gospel, deepening our sense of obligation
to Christ, and confirming our love and obedience to
Him. Especially is this the case with the Lord's
Supper. In that delightful ordinance, we com-
memorate the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ,
in which He bore the punishment of our sins, and
wrought out our redemption. How suited is such
a commemoration to incite gratitude, to enliven
faith, to sustain us in our own sufferings, and to
bind our hearts more closely to Him who loved
us even unto death ! Unite often, then, with the
saints in showing forth the grace of your as-
cended Lord. Receive the emblems of His
bitter sorrow with a believing apprehension of

164 HEART-TREASURE. '

their import ; with penitence for your sins ; with
hearts glowing with love to Him and to His
people; and you will find the exercise greatly
adapted to strengthen your religious principles
and feelings.

CHAPTER X.

TRUTHS TO BE TREASURED UP.

Every truth contained in Scripture is important
to the growth and completeness of Christian cha-
racter. As the filings of gold are precious; as the
least star in the firmament has its appointed design
and influence ; so all divine truths have their pe-
culiar preciousness and eSicac3^ Truth is a sacred
deposit, which God has committed to His people^
and which must on no account be undervalued or
lost; for the whole world cannot give a price
equivalent to the least truth. To this end was
Christ born; to this end He shed His dearest
blood — that He might bear witness to the truth,
and purchase the publication of it. It is very
dangerous to be careless even of minor truths, for
there is nothing superfluous in the sacred Canon.
Things comparatively little may be great in their
sphere, season, and consequences; and we should
beware how we break the golden chain of truths,
and injure their beautiful connection and harmony.

But while we are thus studiously to gather, and
firmly to retain, whatever the word of God teaches,

(165)

166 HEART-TREASURE.

it is still specially incumbent on us to treasure up
fundamental and seasonable truths; truths, on
which we must venture our souls, and such as we
may have peculiar occasion to use — truths suited
to the age and circumstances in which we live.
Hence an apostle exhorts believers to "be estab-
lished in the present truth ;" that is, as some in-
terpret the expression, in the doctrine of the Gos-
pel then newly revealed ; or, as others understand
it, in the belief and advocacy of such truths as are
most opposed and contradicted. Every age of the
world, and every state of society, have their pre-
sent errors, by which false teachers seek to under-
mine the truth, and to seduce its professors ; and,
therefore, it behoves the Christian to be well
stored with such truths as may serve to guard him
against prevailing corruptions in principle or in
practice.

There are three classes of divine truths, with
which all Christians should strive to be well fur-
nished, namely, doctrinal, experimental, and prac-
tical truths.

1. Doctrinal truths are to be carefully acquired,
and faithfully maintained. " Hold fast the form
of sound words." The word here used, in the
original, signifies a model or platform, — a mould
or frame of words or things, methodically dis-
posed, as printers set and compose their characters

TRUTHS. 167

in a tabic. Thus gospel doctrine is the mould,
and hearers are the metal which takes the form
and impresssioa of that into which it is cast.
A Christian should have the whole body of divi-
nity incorporated within him. It is not below the
most able, intelligent, and judicious Christian to
read, and even commit to memory, catechisms and
brief digests of theology. I beseech you lay this
good doctrinal foundation, and you will derive in-
finite advantage from it during the whole course
of your lives. It will teach you to discourse dis-
tinctly, to hear profitably, and to read the Scrip-
tures and good books with judgment, being able
to try all things, and to refer every thing to its
proper place and connection. You will find great
benefit from thoroughly fixing in your minds, and
classifying in their proper order, with suitable
proof-texts for each, such prominent doctrines as
the following : The Holy Scriptures are of divine
authority, and the sole, complete, and supreme
rule of faith and practice. God is an infinite,
simple, and immutable Spirit. In the unity of
the Godhead there are three distinct Persons,
which are yet one in nature, in essence, and in
every divine perfection. All things depend upon
God's eternal decrees. Man was created perfect
in holiness and happiness ; but, through the apos-
tacy of Adam, all his posterity have become in-

1G8 HEART-TKEASURE,

volved in pollution and ruin. Christy the God-
man, is the only Mediator between God and
man, — who, by His obedience^ sufferings, and
death, hath satisfied divine justice, and justified
sinners. They, and they only, who sincerely re-
pent and believe, are justified and accepted. Christ
has established a visible church in the world, of
which He is the supreme and only Head, and
whose members are to consist of such as credibly
profess faith in His name, and observe the ordi-
nances which He has instituted. At the end of
time, there will be a general resurrection of the
dead, and a day of public and final judgment, in
which the righteous shall be received into life
eternal, and the wicked condemned to everlasting
punishment. Cardinal doctrines like these, firmly
imprinted in the memory, and clearly compre-
hended, will greatly assist your advancement in
Christian knowledge and holiness. They will form
a centre around which other truths will gather,
until you become, at length, familiar with the
whole system of revealed truth, and well instruct-
ed in whatever God requires you to believe or do.
Thus will you be provided with a constant defence
against error in all its forms, with a sure guide in
every question of duty, and with unfailing motives
to its performance.

2. Another class of truths, which you should

TRUTHS. 169

carefully ponder and lay up, consists of experi-
mental truths; that is, of such as are vital and
vivifying, and whose transforming power is to be
experienced and felt in the heart. These comprise
the very essence and substance of inward religion.
They reach and pervade the inmost spirit, bow the
will, engage the aifections, awaken the conscience,
and influence the entire character and life. And
they are as delightful and refreshing, as they are
controlling. They afford the sweetest solace to a
sound believer, and open before him the most
ravishing subjects of contemplation. In their hid-
den and mysterious workings on the soul, they ^re
like that ^' new song" which ^' no man could learn
but the hundred and forty and four thousand
which were redeemed from the earth;" or like
that " new name which no man knoweth, saving
he that receiveth it." Such truths are better felt
than spoken, sooner experienced than expressed,
like those unutterable words which Paul heard in
Paradise. They are, in fact, such truths as are
hid from the wise and prudent, but revealed unto
babes. To know aright " the truth as it is in
Jesus," is to feel its quickening and renovating
power on the heart. Without this experience,
knowledge is but a cold and worthless speculation.
The choicest truths of the Gospel cannot be dis-
cerned by the understanding, until it is illumined
15

170 HEART-TREASURE.

by the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, shining
in upon the affections. The theology of the Bible
is not speculative, but effective and influential.

It may not be without use to give you here a
short summary of the truths belonging to this
class, which you are especially to store up in your
minds ; and though such a summary must neces-
sarily be incomplete, it may yet serve to direct
your inquiries, and guide you to results more full
and satisfactory. The principal points which I
would mention are these ; That by nature we are
averse to all good, and prone to all evil. That we
have no power of our own to obtain saving good,
but are entirely dependent for its bcstowment on
the sovereign mercy of Grod. That regeneration
is a thorough change of the whole man, in heart
and life, effected by the direct and immediate
agency of the Holy Spirit. That faith and re-
pentance are the gifts of Grod's free grace. That
a sinner is justified only by Christ's merits im-
puted, not by works. That conformity to God is
an inseparable attendant of communion with God.
That every child of God has the Spirit of adop-
tion, to assist him in prayer. That the best saints
in this life are sanctified but in part. That a
Christian's truest and noblest life is a life of faith.
That sincere saints may be assured of the truth of
grace within them, and of their consequent title to

TRUTHS. 171

glory. That a justified person cannot totally and
finally fall away, but will be kept by the power
of Grod unto salvation. These and other kindred
truths, cordially believed, and deeply graven on
the heart, will greatly increase your experience of
the vital power of Christianity. They will deepen
the work of grace in your souls; promote your
sanctification ; strengthen your faith and hope;
enlarge your comforts ; and render you more and
more '^ meet for the inheritance of the saints in
light.^'

3. One more class of truths, which should be
diligently laid up, consists of such as relate mainly
to practice. Fundamental truths of practical con-
cernment are, in a manner, the soul of religion.
Christianity is not a mere creed ; it is a life, ani-
mating first the heart, and flowing thence into the
conduct. Socrates is accounted the wisest of the
heathen sages, because he applied his studies and
teachings to the department of morals — to the re-
gulation of human actions. And the great design
of the Gospel is not to make men more learned,
but to make them better ; not merely to instruct,
but to correct and purify them. Conscientious
practice is, in fact, both the end of Christian
knowledge, and the means to its farther attain-
ment. If we faithfully perform what we know of
God's will, more ample discoveries of it will be

172 HEART-TREASURE.

made to us. If we give up ourselves to tlie truth,
the truth will make us free. Truths of a practical
import tend to deliver the soul from the bondage
of sin, to bring it into the liberty of the sons of
God, and to prepare us to regard His service as
perfect freedom. Doctrinal truths have to do with
our faith; experimental, with our hearts; prac-
tical, with our lives. The first are to be believed,
the second to be experienced, the third to be
obeyed. With these last, in all their various
forms of application, the Scriptures are filled.
They teach us that all creatures were made for the
glory of God, and are sacredly bound to promote
it; and that, although since the fall the divine
law is no longer the ground of our justification,
it is still the standard of our obedience. They
teach us that true faith embraces Christ wholly,
in His commands as well as in His grace, in the
strictness of His precepts as well as in the large-
ness of His mercy ; that none can expect pardon
without a sincere, evangelical repentance, and
amendment of life ; that though man's best duties
are imperfect, and merit no reward at God's hands,
yet good works are the necessary fruits and evi-
dences of a living faith ; and that those only are
good works which proceed from a right source, are
governed by a right rule, and directed to a right
end. And they further teach us that all who are

TRUTHS. 173

redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, arc
under the most solemn obligation, not only to ex-
emplify His Gospel in their spirit and conduct,
but to consecrate their time, talents, and pro-
perty unreservedly to the work of extending His
cause, and publishing His salvation throughout
the world.

The brief and imperfect enumeration, which has
now been given, may serve as a specimen of the
several kinds of truth which you should sedulously
labor to acquire. These you are to collect and
seal up as your choicest treasure; and you will
find that such a treasure will furnish your minds
with saving knowledge ; fortify your hearts against
opposition and error; satisfy your spirits amidst
doubts and dijQ&culties ; teach you to profit by
every dispensation of God's providence; and pre-
pare you for fiery trials, and the fiercest assaults
of persecution. You cannot stand for truths which
you do not know, and you will not stand for those
which you do not adopt, and highly value. You
are to hold fast what you have received; and,
therefore, you should receive what you may retain,
and live up to, and live upon, in an evil day. As
a minister, so a private member of the church
must hold fast the faithful word, as he hath been
taught. He must maintain truth with all his
might, struggle and contend for it, and, if need be,
15*

174 HEART-TREASURE.

die in its defence. Truth and our souls must be
married, and never divorced. There are truths on
which we may venture our souls, and for which,
should the necessity arise, we must venture our
lives. It has been atheistically said by some, that
the martyrs in Queen Mary's days died in a pet,
and were too prodigal of their blood ; and that God
requires no man to be cruel to himself for His
sake. But true believers have otherwise learned
Christ than to deny Him or His truth before men ;
for they would not be denied by Him on another
day. They have so learned to love Him as to lay
down their lives for Him, if He call them to it ;
and thus, by being overcome, they overcome, as
their IMaster did before them. " They overcame
by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of
their testimony; and they loved not their lives
unto the death." It is the duty of every Chris-
tian to lay up in the cabinet of his heart such
truths as he may live and die by, and to adhere
closely and constantly to them. We must do by
truth as Cagsar did by his books, when, having to
swim through a river to escape the fury of his ene-
mies, he carried his books above the water with
his hand, but lost his robe. Thus, should we be
called to swim through a sea of trouble in follow-
ing the Lamb, we must keep the Lord's deposit,
even though we lose our garments of earthly enjoy-

TRUTHS. 175

ment; and must sooner part with life itself than
with the sacred and saving truths contained in the
Book of God. *' Take fast hold of instruction, let
her not go, keep her, for she is thy life.'^ Hence,
many have been willing to be burnt themselves
rather than give up their Bibles to be burnt; and
have chosen to be racked for the truth, sooner
than suffer themselves to be rent from the truth.
It is our high and imperative duty at once to hold
fast the word of life, and to hold it forth ; to be
witnesses to it actively, and witnesses for it pas-
sively; and if we maintain it, it will maintain us.
" Because thou hast kept the word of my patience,
I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation."
The word of Christ's patience may be taken for
such truth as produces, when received, a quiet,
composed, and submissive frame of spirit; or for
that which demands the exercise of patience, inas-
much as it may call its professors to endure great
hardships in its support, and even to lay down
their lives for it. A Christian must never flinch,
but, in the strength of God, encounter the greatest
perils and sufferings for approved, experienced,
and vital truths. ^'I know," says Bishop Hall,
"there is a difference in truths, and in the value
which we are to set upon them, as in coins, whereof
one piece is a farthing, and another no less than a
pound." Let this, however, be to you a compre-

176 HEART-TREASURE.

hensiveand inviolable rule — despise not the smallest
truth — prove all things by the authority of Scrip-
ture— lay up and hold fast whatever is consonant
to it; yet, at the same time, place the greatest
stress on those truths which are fundamental ; and
having once made them your own, be not driven
to surrender them by a world in arms.

CHAPTER XI.

CULTIVATION OF CHRISTIAN GRACES.

Another class of precious commodities, which
a Christian should treasure up, is, divine graces.
Every grace is of vast worth, and of excellent use.
Even the least degree of sincere grace is of more
value than a mine of gold, or a prince's crown and
kingdom. It is said of the grace of faith, that the
trial of it — that is, faith tried in the furnace of
affliction, — is much more precious than gold that
perisheth. N'o finite mind can set a right and per-
fect estimate on a grain of true grace, which is no
other than the offspring of Heaven, the purchase
of Christ's blood, and the blessed fruit of His
Spirit. It is part of the Divine nature, the image
of God, the seed of immortality. Grace is the
defence and the oraament of the soul ; the brightest
glory and accomplishment of a Christian. Let
worldlings toil to gather great estates, filling their
houses with goods, their barns with grain, and
their bags with gold ; but let the pious soul seek
to be fdled with the fruits of righteousness, the
grac(3s of the Spirit.

(177)

178 HEART-TREASURE.

There are fonr kinds of graces, which [ wonLl
earnestly advise all Christians in a special mautn r
to cultivate and treasure up in their hearts. These
are directing^ subjecting, profiting, and persevering
graces.

1. The believer is to lay up, with diligence, di-
recting graces. By these, I mean an abundance
of knowledge, wisdom, prudence, and judgment,
that he may have light and discernment in the
things of Grod. Days are coming, when Christians
may need the wisdom of the serpent, as well as the
innocence of the dove. The spiritual traveller ia
often puzizlcd, in his journey, with various paths,
and intricate windings. Of how much worth, in
Biich circumstances, is a spirit of understanding,
whereby we may choose the good, and refuse the
evil, and keep the straight road to heaven!
Hence the apostle prays for the Philippians, " that
their love might abound yet more and more in
knowledge and in all judgment; that they might
approve things that are excellent.'' The means to
keep us from erring about things indifferent, is to
have a solid apprehension concerning those which
are excellent, and which tend to sincerity and up-
rightness of life ; and, therefore, the apostle adds,
'' that ye may be sincere, and without offence till
the day of Christ." A spirit of discernment is
necessary to exact walking. An enlightened con-

GRACES. 179

science helps the soul to be without offence. No
man can walk circumspectly, but " he that hath
his eyes in his head/' He that walks in darkness
with a blind eye knows not whither he goetli.
The eye of tlie mind is the light and guide of the
will and affections; and if that be blind, those
blind faculties fall into the ditch of error, apostacy,
and misery. The Christian's eyes must be full of
light. We cannot have too much knowledge, if it
be sanctified. In one act of religion, a Christian
has to look many ways, — inward, at his principle, —
upward, to the pleasing of God, — forward, at the
reward, — downward, at the profit of men. There
are many eyes upon us, and our eyes must be upon
many. Some long to see our well-doing, others
watch for our halting. We need wisdom to carry
ourselves usefully towards the good, and wisely
towards those that are without. There is great
necessity for true and solid knowledge, to enable
us to discern our own duty, and yet exercise
charity; to mind our own business, and keep within
our place and station, and yet abound in good
offices to saints and sinners. We shall find some
difficulty in acting always, so as not to give offence
carelessly, or to take offence causelessly. We
should learn to see with our own eyes, and not be
led by others, however wise, or learned, or godly.
0 what a blessed thing is it to be wise to that

180 HEART-TREASURE.

which is good, and simple concerning evil ! With
how much more ease may a Christian go through
his arduous course with than without solid know-
ledge ! ^' Wisdom is profitable to direct." It " is
better than weapons of war.'^ It " excelleth folly
as far as light excelleth darkness. '^ Practical wis
dom is infinitely more important than that which
is merely speculative; for "the wisdom of the
prudent is to understand his way.'' This treasure
of directing graces is practical. It helps the tongue
to answer discreetly, the feet to walk properly, the
hands to work efficiently, and to spend no time or
pains in ill-judged and irrelevant eflforts. It also
has to do with a man's own self; and does not
range abroad, while it forgets home. The greatest
politician is a very fool when he cannot order his
own afi'airs with discretion. He that is not wise
for himself is not wise at all. Paul prays for the
saints at Colosse, " that they might be filled with
the knowledge of God's will, in all wisdom and
spiritual understanding." For what end ? That
they "might walk worthy of the Lord unto all
pleasing, being fruitful in every good work."
That is the only valuable knowledge which leads
to holy practice. The profit of the soul is the end
of spiritual understanding. They who aim not at
this end, and whose studies do not advance them

GRACES. 181

towards it, may have the repute of learned men,
but will never pass for judicious Christians.

Be solicitous, then, to lay up those graces that
may direct you. There is a vast difference be-
tween a Christian of a solid and one of a weak
judgment, though both may be equally sincere.
The one knows duty and lawful liberty ; the con-
science of the other is wofully perplexed with iiice
and needless scruples, which render him a burden
to himself, a hindrance to others, and expose him
to a world of temptations. An unsettled soul,
that is yet well-meaning, but ignorant, forms a
theatre on which Satan and seducers act dreadful
tragedies. It is such unstable ones that wrest and
pervert the Scriptures ; that are constant only in
inconstancy ; " and are tossed to and fro with
every wind of doctrine." They receive a new im-
pression from every sermon or company, and arc
as quick to abandon as they are prompt to embrace
a new notion ; so that you cannot tell where to
find them. But a sober, solid, well-taught Chris-
tian has taken his stand, and you may know
where to find him, and he knows where to find his
own principles. He moves always upon the firm
ground of Scripture truth. By the light of reve-
lation, he can ordinarily find his way through the
dark mists of error, and by the hand of the Spirit
he is conducted along the often obscure and nar-
16

182 HEART-TREASURE.

row passages of duty, to rest and satisfaction.
Hence, it is said, that '' he that is spiritual
judgeth all things." By this stock of directing
graces, he is qualified to decide in doubtful cases,
and is assisted to behave himself wisely in a per-
fect way.

2. Treasure up subjecting graces, that may help
you to bear God's will, and freely to submit to
His disposal. Of this class are patience, humility,
self-denial, weanedness from the world, heavenly-
mindedness, and that rare jewel, Christian con-
tentment in all conditions. 0 what a happy soul
is that to which nothing can come amiss, and
which is furnished for every storm ! Paul was a
brave scholar in this suffering school, for he had
^' learned, in whatever state he was, therewith to
be content." It is a hard and long task ; but what
cannot grace undertake and overcome, through the
help of assisting grace ? The treasured Christian
may say, with David, " My foot standeth in an
even place." Come what may, he will light upon
his feet, and stand upright, and not wrench his
foot by turning aside into crooked ways. As he
lies square to every command of Grod, so he does
righteousness at all times. It is the design of
wicked men to push away the feet of the godly
from their standing in holy paths and outward '^^
comforts ; and, therefore, we must " make strait

GRACES. 183

j-kiitlis for our foet, lest that wliicli is lame be
turned out of the way." In other words, we must
get a principle of health and rectitude, in opposi-
tion to that wa^'ward and wandering disposition
of heart, which is natural to all men, that we may
not turn aj^ide to the right hand nor to the left,
but hasten in a straight course to the goal of glory.
Grace strengthens the nerves of the soul, and helps
against halting. The feet of the saints are shod
with courage and holy resolution, that they may
walk steadily in slippery places. ^^ The whole
armor of G-od," even the precious stock of Chris-
tian gra-ees, will fortify the believer against the
sharpest encounters. Above all, as a preparative
for suffering, there is nothing which so bows the
spirit to bear burdens, so subjects it to the Lord's
pleasure, so helps it to wait His time, tind so
secures it from danger, as the heart-quieting grace
of faith. This is the way to strength and safety.
A man of strong faith is fit for any condition, and
will live by his faith when all things fail. Nothing
can daunt, depress, or overpowei' him. ^' He is,'^
as Ambrose strikingly remarks, " inTineibie in
labors, strong for dangers, rigid against pleasures,
hardened against the alluring baits of tfie world.'*
O the e:5'<.'ellence and necessity of faith, courage,
and a Christian magnanimity ! The believer, who
is thus -endowed, moves in a higher orbit tiiaJi

184 HEART-TREASUKE.

ordinary Christians^ and leads the vaa of the
sacramental host. Faith sets the soul as on an
impregnable rock in the midst of the sea, around
which the waves of men's malicious threats and
hot revenge break in vain; so that it can say,
with David, " In God have I put my trust; I will
not be afraid what man can do unto me/'
Amongst other subjecting graces, be sure to lay
up a good treasure of that incomparable grace of
meekness, which captivates the understanding to
the obedience of faith, moderates the will to a due
submission to the Lord's disposal, and silences the
lips against all murmuring expostulations. This
precious grace takes well all that God doth, and
rages not against the instruments. It yields active
or passive obedience to superiors with cheerful-
Dess; and though it dare not yield up its judg-
ment to the guidance of any mortal man or church
on earth, yet it meekly lies under the censures
and punishments of men, '' committing all to Ilim
that judgeth righteously." These, and such like
sufiering graces and dispositions, must Christians
store up, that they may suffer according to the
will of God, in the sharpest conflicts which they
may meet on earth. The truth is, you little know
what lies between you and the grave. You have
not yet resisted unto blood, but you may. You
little know what religion may cost you. You may

GRACES. 185

have to go through a long *' vale of the shadow of
death," to death, and ^' fight with beasts at Ej^he-
sus," and then mount up in a fiery chariot to hea-
ven. Sit down, then, and reckon the charges of
such a warfare, and whether you have armor of
proof to carry you through a host of dangers and
difficulties. Stock yourselves for a storm ; frame
your backs for a burden; melt your wills into
God's will, if you desire to hold out against faint-
ing and despair, and would hear that sweet and
blessed encomium from the lips of Christ, " Thou
hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's
sake hast labored, and hast not fainted." " To
him that overcometh I will give to eat of the tree
of life, which is in the midst of the paradise
of God."

3. Endeavor to treasure uj) profiting graces;
such as will help you both in doing and receiving
good. For the first, lay up those graces which
will render you serviceable in your places. " Let
us follow after the things which make for peace,
and things wherewith one may edify another;"
such as brotherly love, kindness, charity, meek-
ness, forbearance, gentleness, condescension, mu-
tual sympathy, compassion to the souls of men,
and zeal for the glory of God ; a benevolent spirit
and a heart to lament the sins and sufi'erings of
the church. It is a blessed thing to be of public
16*

186 HEART-TREASURE.

use. To be diffusive and communicative, adds
lustre to what is truly good. Some Christians
have those useful gifts and graces, which others,
though truly good, may want. The more good
you have, the more good you may do. '' The
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man
to profit withal." God lays in, that we may lay
out, and we are to lay up great treasures on pur-
pose that we may do the more good. Jt was an
excellent saying of Luther, that " all things are
made free by faith, and all things are made ser-
viceable by love.'' It is the property and pleasure
of a good soul to be doing good. Living springs
send forth streams of water spontaneously ; while
dead pits must have all that they afford drawn out
with ropes and buckets. The fuller a gracious
soul is, the more free will be the communication.
There is as much comfort in doing, as in receiving
good. You must seek to be fitted for both. " Put
on, therefore, as the elect of Grod, holy and be-
loved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of
mind, meekness, long-suffering;'' that you may
be disposed to glorify Grod, edify others, and serve
your generation, according to the will of God, and
at last give a good account of your talents and
stewardship. Blessed is the man who has his
quiver full of these valuable shafts, and his boxes
full of gracious cordials, so that he may both

GRACES. 187

wound sinners by admonition, and heal them with
the sweet words of consolation.

You need also to treasure up such graces as will
help you to get good to your own souls by all
God's dealings with you. Mix trials as well as
the word with faith. Receive all afflictions with
meekness, and bring forth fruit with patience.
All that God does is for our profit. Even the
tokens of His anger are designed to promote our
advantage; and the sharpest corrections of His
hand are administered with a view to our instruc-
tion. That we may be made partakers of His
holiness, is the end at which He aims in all His
dispensations. All things would work together
for our good, if we had a receptive principle ; for
to him that hath a treasure shall more be given,
according to the proportion of grace received and
improved. Ordinances would do us more good if
we had grace to get good by them. A heart,
sanctified and stored with improving graces, is like
tinder, which soon takes fire, and is apt to keep it,
till it be forced out. Chemists tell us, that trans-
mutation is easy in such elements as agree in their
primary qualities. Water is more easily turned
into air than into fire. So, a holy and spiritual
heart will be easily wrought on by holy and spi-
ritual ordinances; for here is an agreement in
qualities. Gracious qualities make the soul both

188 HEART-TREASURE.

receptive and retentive of heavenly impressions.
Grow in grace every day, and then you will get
good by all God's dealings.

There are several graces which dispose the soul
to spiritual proficiency ; such as sensibility of con-
science, tenderness and brokenness of heart, which
prepare the mind to receive divine culture, and
mellow it for '' the seed of the kingdom." A
similar effect is produced by a clear perception of
spiritual wants, a conscious feeling of the guilt and
burden of sin, earnest breathing after God, with
intense and longing desires for the assurance of
His favor. These capacitate the soul for both
sanctifying and satisfying incomes. Strength of
grace is usually attended by sweet manifestations
of the Divine presence and blessing. " I write
unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and
the word of God nbideth in you." Strong and
well furnished Christians have many precious epis-
tles from heaven.

4. Treasure up persevering graces. Store your
hearts with such elements of steadfastness, con-
stancy, and progress, as may carry you through
the world, and through death, and land you safe
on the shore of eternity. Of this kind are sin-
cerity, humility, faith, hope, love, the fear of God,
delight in Him, resignation to Him, unwavering
decision for Him, contempt of the world, and

GRACES. 189

desire of heaven. If you have these, you shall
never fail. Unsound professors may and will fall
away; but such as are thus rooted shall grow
up as high as heaven. Hypocrites may seem to
climb up many steps towards heaven, and yet
come short of it. But he, who ascends by a lad-
der that has sincerity at the bottom, and perse-
verance at the top, shall not miss of glory. 0 see
to the uprightness of your hearts, and the genuine-
ness of your graces ! Be not mistaken in regard
to your state. Build high, by laying the founda-
tion low. If the root of the matter be in you, it
shall not be eradicated ; saving grace will end in
eternal blessedness. The girdle of truth, " the
breast -plate of righteousness,^' "the shield of
faith," the shoes of heroic resolution, " the helmet
of hope,'' the sword of the Spirit, and constant,
fervent prayer, will help the struggling believer to
a glorious victory; and God himself will, at the
last, place on his head an imperishable crown. If
you possess and cultivate these graces, you will
hold on, and hold out. If " your love abound yet
more and more in knowledge and in all judg-
ment," you will " be sincere and without offence
till the day of Christ." Is it not your dearest
hope to arrive safely in heaven? Then lay for
yourselves a deep and stable foundation, in evan-
gelical faith and repentance, and in all the princi-

190 HEART-TREASURE.

pies of vital godliness, and the superstructure
shall surely be crowned with eternal life. Press
forward, and aim ever at perfection. Heap up
graces, of such kind, and in such number and
measure, that '^ so an entrance may be adminis-
tered unto you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. '^
The great direction, prescribed in the whole of the
passage of which this citation forms the close, is,
that the believer should successively add one de-
gree and sort of grace to another. The original
word, which is translated, " add,'' contains an
allusion to the dances of virgins in the Grecian
Chorus, who linked themselves hand in hand, and
went through their part in a connected order.
And it is observable, that in the clause which has
been quoted, the same word is used to express the
adding or ministering to the advanced Christian
an entrance into the happiness of heaven; thus
denoting the nearness and propinquity between
the highest degrees of grace, and the state of
glory. The chain of divine graces reaches from
the first uniting grace of faith, to the crowning
and God-enjoying grace of perfect love; and these
virgin-graces, joined hand in hand in a believing
soul, lead it higher and higher, till they bring it
into the presence of the Prince — into the splendors
of the Bridegroom's chamber. 0 how sweetly

GRACES. 191

will you move onward to heaven, led by these
concatenated graces ', the Lord himself still hold-
ing the end of the golden chain, and drawing your
souls every day nearer to glory ! We " are kept
by the power of God, through faith, unto salva-
tion.'' The Lord, by preserving and strengthen-
ing the grace of faith, will uphold us in all our
conflicts, and conduct us in triumph to His ever-
lasting kingdom. By His assistance, as the effi-
cient cause, and in the exercise and increase of all
graces, especially faith, as the means, we shall
persevere unto the end. Thus should Christians
treasure up sustaining graces, that they may not
faint by the way ; that their last may be more
than their first ; and that the fabric of their piety
may be raised as high as heaven. Let this, how
ever, be firmly fixed in your mind, that Christ,
and Christ only, must be your foundation, and
that you can build on Him aright only by deep
self-abasement and renunciation of sin. You will
never have a perfection of degrees, unless you
have a perfection of parts in integrity of heart;
nor will you ever reach final glory, unless Christ,
by His merits and by His Spirit, draw you up
with Him in His own ascension. Look well, then,
to your interest in His atoning blood, and, having
done this, then grow in grace till grace expand
into the holiness and bliss of heaven.

CHAPTER XII.

, EXPERIENCES TO BE TREASURED UP.

A FURTHER class of precious and useful things
which the believer should lay up, is composed of
those various experiences which meet him in all
the passages of his life. By collecting and pre-
serving these, he may secure much benefit; for to
do so, is a plain duty, a mark of wisdom, and a
means of more. Thus the Psalmist, after a glow-
ing record of the varied operations of Divine Pro-
vidence, says, ^* Whoso is wise, and will observe
these things, even they shall understand the loving
kindness of the Lord.'' As if he had said, They,
that set themselves to consider the Lord's works
in the world, have wise and observant spirits, and
shall grow still wiser, and see more of Grod in His
dispensations than other men. Grod opens His
secret cabinet to those who devoutly study the
developments of His moral government. But, on
the other hand, he views, with severe displeasure,
those who are blind to His dealings, and threatens
them with the heaviest punishment. ^^ Because
they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the
(192)

EXPERIENCES. 193

oi'yeration of His hands, He shall destroy them,
and not build them up," Rightly to ponder the
agency of God in all earthly ^affairs, is a work too
high for the sottish minds of irreligious men. It
is only the true Christian that suitably recognizes
this agency, and derives from it the lessons which.
it is intended to teach. '' The righteous man
wisely considereth the house of the wicked;"
that is, he considers what becomes of it, how
the Lord deals with wicked men and with their
houses; and observes, in all the vicissitudes of
human things, the dispensations of Grod towards
the good and the evil, in mercy and in judgment.
'■'■ Who is wise, and he shall understand these
things ? prudent, and he shall know them ? for
the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall
walk in them; but the transgressors shall fall
therein."

It is my purpose, however, to notice in this con-
nection, the personal experiences of the believer in
matters relating to himself; and to view them as
having reference to four particulars; the vanity
of the world, the treachery of his own heart, the
bitterness of sin, and heavenly discoveries. From
each of these departments, I would urge every
child of God to draw salutary instruction for his
future guidance.

1. Lay up experiences of the world's vanitj,
17

191 TTE-^RT-TTTEASLRE.

Solomon was engaged, during his whole life, in
making such a collection ; and, ia his old age, he
recorded it in the Book of Ecclesiastes, as a lesson
to all after generations. He possessed imrivalled
faculties and oppo-rtunities for prosecuting such an
cxperinicnL He knew better than any man what
tk^ world can do for its most favored votaries.
But, after having tasted its most intoxicating de^
lights, he pronounces the sad aad disheartening
result. "A^anity of vanities^ all is vanity." And
the whole book, in which he thus describes bis ex-
perience, is an induction of facts and arguments to
prove tliis assertion- "What," then, " ean the
man do. that eometh after the king ?'^ Alas, if you
Biake the like investigation, you will be forced to
come to the same conclusion. You cansot search
deeper than he did into the nature of earthly good,
nor drink fuller draughts from the fountains of
worldly pleasure ; yet he found but emptiness and
vexation in all the enjoyments which sense can
offer. And have not you found the same ? Read
the wise man's last and soundest lectures on the
vanity of every pursuit that terminates here ; re-
call your past history as you read, and let dear
bought experience give its comment ; and then lay
up both text and comment in your beai'ts. Say^
didst thou ever trust the world but it deceived
thee ? Has it not hiXcd thee at such a tim,e ? and

EXPERIENCES. 195

ilisappointc'd thoe in such a case ? 0 how didst
thou bless thyself in such an expectation ? but,
alas, thou didst grasp the sand or smoke. Hast
thou not found riches uncertain, friends inconstant,
relations vanishing ? Have you not seen the
■world passing away, and its pleasures, profits, and
honors, like a swift gliding river, hastening onward
to the dark ocean of forge tfulness ? However men
may be bewitched with the world's bravery, the
Spirit of God judges of it as a mere phantasm — a
pageant show, that glitters with a hollow and de-
ceitful splendor. What solid content have you
ever found in it ? When you have sought to the
creature for happiness, has it not answered, '^It
is not in me ?" Or have you not learned that all
created joys are, at best, but as a dream of the
night, when the hungry and thirsty think they eat
and drink, but wake and still are faint? Have
you not found this true in your own sad experi-
ence ? If so, then treasure up these results ; re-
gard them as settled facts ; and learn from them
to trust the world no more. 0 wouldst thou en-
danger thy soul again ? Wilt thou lean again
upon this broken reed, that will run into thy hand
and heart, and pierce thee with many sorrows ?
Wilt thou, by striving to be rich, " fall into temp-
tation and a snare, and into many foolish and
hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and

19G HEART-TREASURE.

perdition ?" The truth is, there is nothing in this
world which can answer our desires and hopes
No earthly pursuit or attainment is capable of af-
fording us what we expect from it. We find the
world but a lie. Its brightest glories are a mock-
ing vision; its fairest promises turn into disap-
pointments that strike and wound us ; and thus
what we trusted to as our leaning-staff becomes a
knocking cudgel. Well, then, since you have
found it so, look upon it as such, and carefully
preserve the experience.

2. Lay up experiences of the treachery of your
own heart. The heart is a mournful book; but
you must peruse and re-peruse it, if you would not
live and die in fatal ignorance. Study, then, the
multifarious windings, and artifices, and conceal-
ments of thy depraved heart. Consider and re-
member well all its ways of guile and guilt which
have cost thee so dear. In thus reviewing thy in-
ward history, thou wilt find, that in such a duty
thy heart gave thee the slip — in such a temptation
thy heart led away thy feet, or hands, or tongue,
and caused thy flesh to sin — in such an enjoyment
thy perfidious heart stole away — in such a moment
of worldly success thy groveling heart prostrated
itself in bestial idolatry at the altar of Mammon —
in such an affliction thy murmuring heart rose up
against God, and thy tumultuous, quarrelsome

EXPERIENCES. 197

spirit made thee speak unadvisedly with thy lips.
And wilt thou trust thy deceitful heart again?
Who but a fool will venture his whole estate with
a known thief? What wise man will be imposed
on by a detected juggler? '^He that trusteth his
own heart is a fool/' And will not you be the
veriest fool that breathes, if after so many cheating
tricks, you still confide in this unmitigated traitor ?
Ah, reader, I appeal to thine own experience.
How many a woful instance hast thou had of the
heart's deceitfulness ! It is prone to deceive, and
equally prone to be deceived, and the latter is the
more dangerous quality. The heart, since the
fall, is naturally of a crafty, subtle, and fickle
temper, and is made still worse and worse, by the
deceitfulness of sin, which is woven and twisted,
as it were, into its very frame and texture. These
two cheats conspire to undo the soul. And were
not God a better friend to us than we are to our-
selves, our salvation would be impossible. Every
man is a Satan to himself; and the sincere Chris-
tian will pray, most of all, to be delivered from
that evil one, himself. He is far more afraid of
the folly bound up in his own heart, than of all
the outward assaults of the world, and the machina-
tions of hell. And, indeed, the reason that any
man indulges self-confidence, is because he is igno-
rant of the treacherous workings of his own heart,
17*

198 HEART-TREASURE.

or, having felt them, neglects the experience.
As a desperate bankrupt shrinks from inspecting
his accounts, lest the evidences of his ruin should
glare too frightfully upon him ; so a poor deceived
sinner dares not look into his heart, from a
vague, but uneasy consciousness that he will not
find things there exactly as he wishes; and thus
he seeks to cover it over, and to conceal even
from himself a sight so destructive to his peace.
The real child of God, however, cannot but see
what others overlook, or strive to hide; and will-
ingly does he sec it, and as sadly does he lament
it, and as watchfully labor to subdue and extirpate
it. And it deserves to be noted, that though the
deceptions of the heart are a source of great evil
and danger, yet to observe and remember them is
of singular benefit to a serious mind, and one of
its' strongest safeguards against their power. May
Grod enable us all so to know and fear our own
hearts, that we shall henceforth trust them less,
and Him more.

3. Lay up experiences of the bitterness of sin.
Consider what have been the insinuating ways of
sin and Satan to entangle you, and what the sad
effects which followed. Consider what tears, and
groans, and painful strugglings it has cost you to
extricate your captive souls, and regain freedom
and peace. 0 the intricate windings of that crook-

liXPERlEN-CES. 199

eel serpent ! What strange and subtle devices has
he used to entrap you in his snares, or overtake
yoxL with his furious assaults ! How often has he
presented the bait, and hid the hook ! Has he
not set before your credulous souls the pleasure or
profit of a base lust ? Has he not extenuated sin
at first to induce you to commit it, and afterwards
aggravated it to drive you to despair ? Sin cheats
ns with the prospect of golden mountains, and
lures us on in pursuit of the delusive vision, till it
leaves us in the mire at last. Though its begin-
ning may seem delightful, its end is always bitter.
Has not such been your experience? Ask your
own hearts, what fruit you had in those things
whereof you are now ashamed? The awakened
conscience will answer, that their only fruit is
death — deadly pain now, or eternal death here-
after— the death-like throes of repentance in this
world, or the death-dealing inflictions of vengeance
in the world to come. Your wild oats, sown with
delight in youth, sprung up, in your riper years,
into bitter hemlock and wormwood. Though
wickedness was sweet on your lips, it turned to
the gall of asps within — a biting, scathing poison,
filling your very soul with agony. 0 the dreadful
stings and pangs that sin leaves behind it ! With
what fears and horrors, with what wearing griefs
and crushing anxieties, does it fill the penitent

200 HEART-TREASURE.

soul ! What broken bones and affrighting cares
must the prodigal endure, before he is received
into his Father's sweet embraces ! How long is
the humble suitor compelled to lie at the gates of
mercy, before he can obtain admission, or see the
King's face, or taste the joy of His salvation !
And this arises not from any unwillingness on the
part of God to bestow forgiveness, or from any de-
light which He feels in the anguish of a sinner ;
but from His desire suitably to impress the heart
with the evil of sin, to stir it up to more earnest
longings for His grace, to lead it to prize Christ
and pardon more, and to teach it to hate and to
avoid transgression for the future. He, therefore,
often keeps the soul long in suspense, even when
His bowels yearn over it, as Joseph's did over his
brethren. He deals with the soul, as He dealt
with Miriam in the cure of her leprosy. When
Moses besought Him to pardon her sin, and to
heal her, although He listened to the prayer, yet,
in order to affect her mind with a just sense of the
offence which she had committed. He required her
to wait seven days, and to be shut out, during the
interval, from the congregation. Thus God would
have us know the worth of his favor, by the want
of it for a season. Surely, if you would lay such
sad experience in store, it would prove a powerful
antidote against future temptation. 0 what ab-

EXPERIENCES. 201

horrence of sin did the soul feel in the hour of its
deep humiliation, and what earnest resolves did
it form to sin no more ! If, while David was
bathing himself in briny tears, he had been asked,
What sayest thou now to murder ? How dost
thou like thy fleshly lusts ? Wilt thou buy re-
pentance at so dear a rate, and fall again into un-
cleanness ? Would he not have answered, " 0 no !
God forbid that I should sin again : I will be
racked, or torn in pieces, rather than dishonor my
God, grieve His Spirit, and fill my poor soul with
such tormenting troubles ?" When he was roaring
by reason of the disquietness of his spirit, when
there ^' was no rest in his bones because of his
sin," he had far other thoughts of his sin than
when he was adventuring upon it. There is
scarcely any man so brutish as not to abstain
from that which experience tells him has done
him great harm. Every man of the least pru-
dence will forbear such food and drink as he
knows will infallibly bring upon him excruciating
pain. So the Christian, who has learned by expe-
rience the bitterness of sin, and how dear it has
cost him, will be careful not to commit it again.
Thus will he reason, " I remember into what a
sad condition sin brought me. It behoves me to
sin no more lest a worse thing come upon me.
Sin broke my bones; but now, if I sin again, 1

202 HEART-TREASUttE.

fear it will break my neck. Sin filled my soul
with heart-shaking fears ; but I may expect it will
now fill me with heart -desolating despair. It
brought a hell into my conscience before ; but I
fear it will now cast my soul into hell.'' Lay up
and thoughtfully ponder such sad experience, and
I may then almost say, Sin if you dare.

4. Treasure up the divine discoveries, of which
your souls have had sweet and satisfying expe-
rience. If ycu are Christians, such have doubt-
less been vouchsafed to you; and they were be-
stowed, not merely to be enjoyed, but to be
remembered, contemplated, and improved. Of
this class of experiences there are two kinds which
I would recommend you to preserve ; special pro-
vidences, and spiritual influences.

You should lay up experiences of the particular
manifestations of Divine Providence towards you.
The wisdom of God has so disposed affairs with
respect to His people, that one part of our life
may help us in another ; the van of our days con-
tributing to bring up the rear. From the recol-
lection of past deliverances, the soul may thus
argue ; ^' The Lord holped me in such a strait,
directed in such a doubt, prevented such a fear,
broke such a snare ; He is the same God still, and
will, therefore, help for the future." At every
fresh interposition of Divine goodness, set up an

EXPERIENCES. 203

Ebenezer, so that from the portion of your pil-
grimage which has been accomplished, you may
derive memorials and encouragements for that
which is to come. In each hour of perplexity
and difficulty, sustain yourselves by the conclusive
and scriptural argument^ '' The Lord has deli-
vered j He does deliver; and, therefore, He will
deliver.'' "Write down signal providences, or lock
them up in the safe depository of a sanctified me-
mory, and produce them when you are in extre-
mity, and have your back to the wall. Sweet
experiences of former displays of God's care and
protection, are not the least part of the Christian's
treasure. I woul'^. not, indeed, have you dote
upon them, or imagine that God can go no further
than He has gone — a supposition ^7hich can only
serve to daunt you in new and greater troubles.
Nevertheless, be careful not to despise or slight
these proofs of His kindness, but lay them up and
plead them with Him, whenever your sky shall be
again darkened, and the storm of calamity threaten
to renew its violence. One part of the seventy-
fourth Psalm contains a sad complaint of God's
anger, and the afflictions of the Church; while
the other glows with a cheering rehearsal of former
exhibitions of the power and mercy of Jehovah.
Thus the assistance vouchsafed in the past, sheds
hope and confidence over the darkness of the future.

204 HEART-TREASURE.

You must also treasure up the spiritual enlarge-
ments and comforts, which have gladdened your
religious course. Call them to mind; review them
with humility and gratitude; and in the season
of desponding gloom thus draw from them encou-
ragement and consolation. ^' In such an ordinance
I met with God, and beheld His reconciled face.
In such a duty my graces were quickened, exer-
cised, increased. In such a season of secret prayer,
my heart was warmed, melted, satisfied. In such
a company, in such a society, in such a time of
public worship, my whole soul was enlarged, filled,
and sweetly transported beyond myself. 0 what
a blessed day or night was that to me, when I ex-
perienced the manifestations of God's favor, en-
joyed the smiles of Ilis love, and felt the witness
of His Spirit, sealing my forgiveness and accept-
ance. Well do I remember it; and my heart
dances within me at the recollection. Those hours
of blissful fellowship with God come over my
spirit still, like gleams of Paradise. Such mo-
ments are not always to be expected. These hea-
venly dainties are not the Christian's ordinary
fare. A pining time may come. I will, therefore,
highly prize and carefully store up such foretastes
of divine joy against the hour of need. G(kI for-
bid that I should lose this token for good, this
broken ring, this pledge from heaven. This m;iy

EXPERIENCES. 205

stand me in stoad, in a dark and gloomy day,
when the Lord may frown upon me as an enemy,
and seem to put me from II im, as though He
would forsake me. Then, with Job, will I say
unto Him, ' Thou knowest that I am not wicked.'
Lord, dost Thou deal so with wicked men, or
reveal Thyself thus to men who know Thee not ?
Art Thou wont to sti^ up in the careless world
such penitent bemoanings, such ardent breathings,
and such vehement pantings after Thyself? And
hast Thou ever given to unregenerate souls such
familiar discoveries of Thy grace, as my heart
hath many a time received ? Are these Thy ways
with unsanctified men ? Wilt Thou hold commu-
nion with those wdio were never united to Thee ?
Does not such communion presuppose a union ?
Either my experience is false and counterfeit, or I
am Thine; for whom Thou lovest once. Thou
lovest to the end. Though I am fickle and incon-
stant, Thou art the same, changeless in Thy love,
as in Thy nature. I dare not say that all my
Bweet experiences were mere fictions, shadows,
dreams. No. I humbly hope they were genuine
evidences of Thy special love, arising from Thy
word, and built upon it; yea, they carried their
evidence along with them, and left such impres-
sions on my soul as can never be forgotten or
efiaced, I can appeal to Thyself, 0 Lord, if
18

206 HEART-TREASURE.

tokens have not come from Thee to me, such as
Thou only coulclst give, and none but a renewed
heart could receive. And since Thou canst not
deny Thy name, engraven on my heart, and
sweetly scaled to me, I commit the matter wholly
to Thee. Though now Thou seemest to carry
strangely towards me, as if Thou hadst quite cast
me off; yet Thou art my God still, my loving
Father, my only Friend. I cannot part from
Thee — I will not let Thee go. There was once
love between us ; and though now, in wisdom and
faithfulness. Thou appearest to smother and re-
strain Thy love ; yet I know, by the workings
which I feel in my own breast towards Thee, that
Thou hast the same heart which Thou wast wont
to have. And, therefore. Lord, I hang upon
Thee, and plead with David, ' Where are Thy
former loving kindnesses which Thou swarest unto
me?"'

Thus lay up your sweet experiences, and thus
draw them forth in the black night of despondency
and spiritual desertion. 0 when God deals gra-
ciously with you, neglect not the testimonies of
His love, but garner them in the most sacred
recesses of your heart, as mementoes from your
Husband, Christ, to be your solace and joy during
the dark and lonely hours in which you mourn
His absence !

CHAPTER XIU.

COMFORTS TO BE LAID UP AS A TREASURE.

The last description of treasure, with which a
"believer should store his heart, consists of the
sweet and satisfying comforts of the Spirit. It is
true that these are the immediate and sovereign
effects of the sanctifying and sealing energy of
Divine grace; yet, ordinarily, they are dropped
from heaven into the believing soul, through the
channel of duty and holy endeavor. The nearer
we approach to the sun, the more light and heat
we receive. Now the exercises of religion are the
approximations of a soul to the Sun of Righteous-
ness ; and, therefore, it is good for us to draw nigh
to God, that we may anchor and centre our souls
upon Him, in whom only they can find rest.
This present reward we may have from keeping
His commandments. Grace and peace, holiness
and comfort, usually go hand in hand. '^ Wisdom's
ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths
are peace.'' " Great peace have they that love
Thy law, and nothing shall offend them." Every
gracious act has some degree of comfort annexed to

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208 HEART-TREASURE.

it. Peace is in them as well as on tbem who walk
according to scriptural rules ; and these good old
ways bring us to rest in God, and produce a
blessed Sabbath in our spirits. If you keep God's
commands, Christ will '' send the Comforter to
you;'' nay, Himself ^^will come unto you, and
make His abode with you." Be much, then, in
the performance of holy duties, and seek the enjoy-
ment of God in ordinances. There you may be-
hold the light of His countenance, and hear His
pleasant voice. There you may be satisfied with
the breasts of consolation. Through these blessed
pipes you may derive solid joy, and experience
ravishing sweetness. Improve scriptural truths,
exercise spiritual graces, lay up reviving experi-
ences, and the result of all will be refreshing
comforts.

But, in addition to these, I counsel you to culti-
vate and cherish such thouglits as ma}^ be streams
to feed and fill the well of solid and settled com-
forts in your hearts. On this point, let me offer
you the following directions,

1. Lay up all your comfort in God alone. He is
the Father of mercies, and the God of all consola-
tion. There is not a beam of light or stream of
joy, which proceeds not from this Sun and Foun-
tain of grace and happiness. He who made all
things with a word, can speak and make peace in

COMFORTS. 209

the troubled heart. To do this, is one of His
royal, incommunicable prerogatives. *'I, even I,
am He that comforteth you." If God comfort,
who can sadden? If God afflict, who else can
comfort ? The air lights not without the sun ', the
fuel heats not without the fire. So neither can
any earthly instrument cheer up a drooping heart,
when God suspends His influence ; while, on the
other hand. His children have often been en-
couraged and comforted in Him in the absence of
all created sources of enjoyment. 0 christian !
learn this divine art of drawing all your comforts
immediately from God. Lay up your stock of
comfort in "the Rock of Ages." This will be as
" honey out of the rock," and as "water out of the
fountain," that comes freely, sweetly, purely, anrl
abundantly. If you lay up all your comfort in the
streams, what will you do when the streams are
cut off? If you hang your comfort on every hedge,
it will be far to seek in a day of need. But if
God be your. portion, the antidote is at hand, so
that you need not fear sudden and perplexing
evils ; for His very rod and staff shall comfort
you. The thought of the fatherly heart, the
faithful word, and powerful hand of Jehovah, will
be to you an unfailing support in the fiercest shock
of affliction. Hence holy David, renouncing all
the world, exclaims, " Whom have I in heaven but
IS*

210 HEART-TREASURE.

Thee ? and there is none upon earth that T tlor.ire
besides Thee.'' And if all else were gone, he
would still have, in God, a safBcient portion.
Hence it is, that the saints have been as mount
Zion, and have remained undismayed and immo-
vable amidst the waves, being settled on the Rock
against which the gates of hell shall not prevail.
O could you account God your exceeding joy, how
sweetly and cheerfully could you go to His altar
on all occasions ! And if you lay up your comfort
in God, you may know where to find it when ycu
have need of it ; and none can take away your joy,
because none can take away your God from you.

2. Lay the stress of your comfort on free grace
in justification. Here only is the spring of all
your comfort. " Being justified by faith, we have
peace with God '' Yea, we have peace within, in
the inmost chambers of our own souls; for "we
glory in tribulations also." Gratuitous justifica-
cation is the ground of all consolation. Christ's
righteousness imputed, is the sweetest word in all
the Scriptures. Though Papists make a mock of
it, let us make much of it. It is the brightest
flower in our garden ; the Jachin and Boaz of our
gospel temple; the ladder on which our souls
ascend to heaven. Our only comfort is bound up
in the covenant of free grace. Cling to this; con-
tend earnestly for this; let all go rather than this.

COMPORTS. 211

It is the chief article and principle of our religion,
on which the Church stands, and without which it
falls. 0, then, let no mud defile this blessed
stream. Study free grace; ascribe all to free
grace ; lay up thoughts of undeserved, distinguish-
ing grace. Kemember what our blessed Redeemer
has done and endured. Let the dolors of His soul
be the solace of your hearts. Fetch all your com-
fort from His bitter cross. Consider how fully He
has satisfied divine justice; how large and liberal
is the proclamation of His Gospel; how He opens
His arms and His bosom to embrace repenting
prodigals; how He bids all welcome, and never
yet cast off any that came to Him ; how He has
pardoned infamous sinners, and has received gifts
even for the rebellious. Revolve these in thy
mind ; bring the promises warm to thy heart ; let
thy hyssop of faith sprinkle the blood of Christ on
thy conscience. Vague and general views of
atoning mercy will afford no comfort. Its particu-
lar application to the soul can alone give solid
peace. A hungry man takes little pleasure in
gazing upon a feast, while he tastes not of it.
David's table, spread with dainties in the midst of
his enemies, rather vexed than pleased those en-
vious spectators. It is a blessed thing to think of
the pardon of sin, of justifying grace, adoption,
reconciliation; but what comfort can we derive

212 HEART-TREASURE.

from such contemplations, unless we can say, '^ He
loved me, and gave Himself for me j my Lord and
my God ; my Redeemer livcth ; a crown of life is
laid up for me ?'' 0 this, this is the life of our
lives, the support of our souls ! Yet, if you cannot
always say, that grace is yours, that Christ is
yours, and heaven yours; still, let your thoughts
dwell much upon free grace. Brood not inces-
santly over your own vileness and unworthiness,
but meditate on the gracious promises of God to
the contrite and believing. '^I, even I, am He
that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own
sake, and will not remember thy sins.'' " It is a
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
of whom I am chief." " He was wounded for our
transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities;
the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and
with His stripes we are healed." "In whom we
have redemption through His blood, the forgive-
ness of sins, according to the riches of His grace."
^' Being justified freely by His grace, through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus." By these, and
similar Scriptures, you may have hope. Prayerfully
ponder them, until they are stamped on your very
heart. They are worth more than uncounted gold, —
more than all the world, — to the doubting Chris-
tian, in his seasons of spiritual darkness.

COMFORTS. 213

3. Store up jour clearest evidences of sincerity.
The Spirit ordinarily conveys comfort by shining
in upon His own work, making it perceptible to
the believer himself, and enabling him to draw
from it clear and satisfactory inferences with re-
spect to his religious state. Guided by this inward
irradiation, and comparing what he feels in his own
heart with the teachings of the inspired word, he
thus soundly and safely reasons. " The Bible de-
clares, that ' whosoever calleth on the name of the
Lord shall be saved.' If I know my own heart,
I do sincerely pray and perform other Christian
duties. I, therefore, hope that I shall be saved.
Again, an apostle has said, ' Grace and peace be
with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity.' But, unless I am utterly deceived, I
do love the Lord Jesus in sincerity. Hence I
cannot but humbly trust, that I have the grace of
God, and true peace with Him." In this argu-
ment, the first proposition is a scriptural assertion •
the second is drawn from the believer's own con-
sciousness ; and then the Holy Spirit, witnessing
to his sincerity and uprightness, conducts him to
the demonstrative conclusion, that he is a child of
God, and an heir of glory. The soul, by a reflex
act, views in itself the seeds and germs of evan-
gelical piety ; and though it knows that these have
not purchased its Bedeemer's love, yet it justly

214 HEART-TREASURE.

regards tbora as the sweet effects of that love.
These divine ornaments of saving grace are the
tokens of its betrothal to Christ, and the contem-
plation of them fills it with a serene and holy joy.
Reader ! Have you these clear and satisfying
evidences ? Does the sanctifying Spirit witness
with your spirit, that you are born of God ? If
your soul is all glorious within in sanctification, it
is a good sign that your clothing is of wrought
gold in justification. Make sure your effectual
calling, and then you will make your election sure
also. To this end, study the work of grace within
you. Inquire diligently into the marks of its
genuineness. Rest not in any hasty or superficial
view. . Search to the very centre of your spiritual
being. Probe all your feelings ; lay bare all your
motives ; drag into light your most hidden affec-
tions. Try yourself impartially and thoroughly
by the word of Grod. And if, when the examina-
tion is concluded, you find substantial reasons for
the hope that you are sincerely and truly a disciple
of Christ, then lay up the result for a time of
need. Write it down, that you may have it to
show against the questionings of an unbelieving
heart. Record the means by which you obtained
satisfaction — the time — the place — together with
the low state you were in before the Lord thus
visited you from on high. Record the various cir-

COMFORTS. 215

cuQistaiices connected with the comforts which fol-
h)\ved, their seasonable be^itowment, their powerful
entrance, their clear and reviving evidence. Re-
cord their gradual infusion, or their sudden in-
rushing into jour heart, W'ith the strong and abiding
impression which thej left upon jou. Finally,
record the sweet and strengthening effects w^hich
they produced, that hereafter, in the multitude of
your disquieting thoughts within you, they may
again delight your soul.

4. Lay up tears in God's bottle — prayers in
God's book — comforts in others' breasts — and
promises in your own. You must lay up many
tears in God's bottle. Comfort is the special por-
tion of mourners. It is promised by God, pur-
chased by Christ, and applied by the Spirit of
comfort to those who weep in Zion, ^'to give unto
them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
and the garment of praise for the spirit of heavi-
ness." It is the constant design of our Heavenly
Father to comfort those that are cast down, to heal
the broken in heart, and to revive the contrite
ones. Do you mourn for your sins ? God will
comfort yon in your mourning. Repentance is the
prelude to peace. In Hebrew, the same v/ord
which signifies primarily to repent, denotes also, in
its secondary sense, to cease from sorrow ; thus in-
dicating that ]}emieni:c cuds in joy. The Jews

910 HEART-TREASURE.

fable, that witk such as weep in the night, the
&tars and planets weep, and that if they let the
tears fall down their cheeks, God is ready with
His bottle to receive them, which He pours, they
say, upon the enemy's edicts to blot the writings,
that the Jews may not be injured by them. This,
though a mere fancy, may yet serve to illustrate
God's care for the pious moui-ner. Certain it is,
that God is much aiFected with His children's
tears, and treasures them up, that they may be
converted into their future comfort. The shedding
of penitential tears is a spiritual seed-time. They
that sow in tears shall reap in joy; and rich and
full shall be the harvest of such precious sowing.
This briny water shall be turned into refreshing
wine. According to the depth of your sorrow
will be the height of your comfort. Not a tear
shall be lost that is of the right sort. Every gra»
cious sigh rises before the Lord as grateful incense ^
and every drop distilled from a broken heart, shall
in time multiply to a flood of joy. Who was more
dissolved in tears than penitent David ? And who
had a heart more full of holy peace, or a tongue
more full of the high praises of God, than that
sweet singer of Israel ? 0 grieve much for sin,
and you shall rejoice in, and for your grief. Plen-
teous tears prepai-e for^ and usher m plenteouii

COMFORTS. 217

Lay up many prayers in God's book, as well as
many tears in His bottle. Be frequent and im-
portunate in your approaches to the throne of
grace. The sighs of your spirits will be wafted
back by the sweet breezes of God's Spirit. The
Spirit of grace will breathe into your bosoms a
spirit of peace. As prayer goeth up, comfort
comes down. God makes His children joyful in
the duty of prayer, as well as in the house of
prayer. " For this shall every one that is godly
pray unto Thee in a time when Thou mayest be
found ; surely in the floods of great waters they
shall not come nigh unto him." Prayer reaches
up to heaven, and brings heaven down into the
heart. Prayer seeks God's face; and, in prayer,
the soul by faith sees God's face. And O how
transporting is the sight ! It scatters doubts, dis-
pels fears, and spreads the sunshine of eternity
over the gloom and darkness of earth. '•'■ Ask,
and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."
0 christian ! pour out thy heart to God, and He
will pour into thee joys unspeakable and full of
glory.

And then comfort others, as you are able.
Communicate your experiences to afflicted souls,
and they will return to you with enhanced pre-
ciousness, and in redoubled measure. There is
much pleasure in opening our hearts to Christiau
19

218 HEART-TREASURE.

friends. When you say, ^' Come and hear, all ye
that fear God, and I will declare what He hath
done for my soul,'' He will do more for your
soul. If you help others, He will help you. You
little know how it may comfort you, to impart
comfort to those around you. There is no envy in
spiritual things. It is the characteristic of a child
of God to long that the joy which he himself feels,
may be diffused as widely as possible. And thus
God makes the breast of one believer a store-house
of comfort to many. ^' Whether we be comforted,
it is for your consolation and salvation ;" and that
not only by way of sympathy and affection, but of
intercourse and communication. Besides, the more
you comfort others, the more you will have to pity
and comfort you. The law of gratitude will en-
gage them, and the light, which you have imparted
to them in the day of their sadness, they will re-
flect back upon you, when the shadow is on your
own soul.

Store up in your hearts the precious promises
of God's word. ^' This," said David, ^^ is my
comfort in affliction ', for thy word hath quick-
ened me." This was his portion, his heritage, and
his song in the house of his pilgrimage. The pro-
mises of the Gospel are designed to encourage and
cheer the believer in all his doubts, and tempta-
tions, and conflicts. And for this reason, the

COMPORTS. 219

Bible is full of them. It has been observed, that
the Covenant of Grace is mentioned distinctly a
hundred times, and by clear and necessary in-
ference a thousand times, in the Book of God.
All these promises God has laid in, " that we,
through patience and comfort of the Scriptures,
might have hope.'^ And not only has He pro-
mised, but, " willing more abundantly to show
unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His
counsel. He" has ^'confirmed it by an oath; that
by two immutable things" — His promise and His
oath — " in which it was impossible for God to lie,
we migh<; have a strong consolation, who have fled
for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before
us.'' Promises are sacred anchors, which keep
the soul unmoved amidst the tossing waves of this
changeful and troubled world ; white sails which,
filled with the breath of the Spirit, waft it to the
haven of rest. Promises are conduits, by which
the waters of joy are conveyed to us from the
great reservoir, Christ. Promises are the teats
which feed and nourish the lambs of the flock.
Promises are the key, by which the more mature
Christian unlocks the celestial treasury, and ob-
tains supplies that make him rich in grace, and
rich in comfort. 0, then, treasure up these divine
antidotes, that you may have them always at hand
for the support and solace of your fainting soul.

220 HEART-TREASURE,

If you are a true believer, they belong to you.
They are yours by hereditary right. Faith has
made you a co-heir with Christ, brought you into
a vital uuion with Him, given you an interest in
His obedience and sacrifice, a participation in His
reward, and so a claim to all the promises, which
'^ in Ilim are yea and amen.'' And they are
yours by the right of fitness. Through the renew-
ing and sanctifying energies of the Holy Spirit,
you possess those moral qualities, which are the
required conditions of conditional promises. Thus,
if Christ be yours, and if His purifying Spirit
dwell within you, the promises are yours by a
double charter; and you may safely appropriate
all their comfort, and build on them, as on a sure
foundation, your present and your eternal hope.

Thus, dear reader, have I endeavored to assist
you in laying up these four needful and invaluable
treasures; truths, graces, experiences, comforts.
Let not thy soul be found destitute of these, nor
of a large share of them. Especially, be not un-
heedful of the last. Let not the consolations of
God be of small account in thy esteem. Prize
them above all worldly joys; and carefully store
them up. They are not the least useful or neces-
sary portion of the Christian's treasure. They
vvill fit you for the service of God, nerve you for
suifering, fortify you against temptation, and com-

COMFORTS. 221

pensate you for all the labors aud sacrifices which
the cause of your Master may require of you.
In toil, in conflict, in affliction, '' the joy of the
Lord shall be your strength/^ At present, you
may be dandled upon the knee of God's Mherly
indulgence, cheered by His smile, and delighted
"with the tokens of His favor. You may be sitting
at His high table, eating and drinking in His pre-
sence, and regaling your soul with the sweet re-
freshments of an assured hope. But consider how
soon God may remove the feast, give you bare
commons and water of gall, and fill your spirit
with bitterness. You cannot expect to walk al-
ways by sight. Dark hours will come, when you
must search out your path by faith in an unseen
Redeemer. The Mount of Transfiguration is not
to be your permanent dwelling place. You must
descend again into the plain, and encounter its
dust and strife, its sins, its fears, and its sorrows.
You cannot hope to sail onward to heaven over
an ever placid sea, with sunny skies above you,
and prosperous breezes swelling your canvass. No,
no ; there will be times when the winds will rise,
and the tempest burst upon you, and when, in the
black and stormy night, with waves and breakers
roaring around you, you will be compelled to cast
out the anchors, and wish for day. Treasure up, '
then, the comforts which you now enjoy ; ascribe
19*

222 HEART-TREASURE.

the glory of them only to God ; and in the coming
seasons of trial draw them forth, and use them for
your support and encouragement. Plead them
with the Lordj when He hides His face. Beseech
Him to call to mind the former days, when His
candle shone upon your head, and by His light
you walked through darkness. Thus remembering
the past manifestations of His kindness, and still
trusting and loving Him whom now you see not,
you shall in due time ^' rejoice with joy unspeak-
able and full of glory/'

CHAPTER XIV.

TREASURE.

Hitherto I have considered chiefly some direc-
tions for obtaining a spiritual treasure, together
with particular instructions relative to the diifer-
ent portions of it. But it is no less necessary to
beware of losing or diminishing this treasure. It
is the part of wisdom to keep what is valuable, as
well as to acquire it. A little negligence may
lose suddenly that which has been gained with
much diligence. Solomon has indeed said, ^' There
is a time to cast away stones ;'' but there is no
time to cast away these precious stones. You
must preserve what you have, and be constantly
gathering more. To assist you in so doing, pon-
der seriously the following directions.

1. Let not Satan rob or circumvent you. He
is that evil one that envies a saint's treasure.
Next to our reception of grace, he most grudges
our growth in grace. He steals away " the seed
of the word,'' lest it become a treasure of divine
truths. The more a soul is fraught with good,

(223)

224 HEARTS-TREASURE.

the more assaults will it suffer from this adversary
of all good. As a pirate makes most at a richly
laden ship, and as a thief breaks not into a beg-
gar's cottage ; so the Devil raises an uproar in the
believer's breast, -while he lets his own vassals
live in peace. This juggler will '' transform him-
self into an angel of light," that he may pick our
pockets with more ease and less suspicion. As he
foists in dangerous errors under the garb of truth,
so he lures to damnable sins under the paintings
of virtue. Beware of both. New notions may
eat out the heart of religion, as effectually as cor-
rupt practices. Satan may rob us of our treasure
by subtle insinuations of new light, as well as by
grosser temptations to works of darkness; for
these drink up the marrow of those energies that
should be laid out in spiritual exercises and duties.
" Refuse, therefore, profane and old wives' fables,
and exercise yourselves rather to godliness." Striv-
ings, though they should even be about the Scrip-
tures and the law, may come to be '^ unprofitable
and vain." Many great disputers have argued
away much of their religion ; or at least have
filled their heads with notions, rather than theii
hearts with saving truths and pious affections.
Precious saints have complained that even neces
sary disputes have put their spirits out of tune.
You have little zeal enough for the essentials of

ITS INCREASE. 225

religion ; let noue be wasted on things indifferent.
The Lord help you to prize more a fundamental
truth, and a degree of saving graee, than a fine
speculation, or victory over aii antagonist. Take
heed lest Satan dart into you a spark of false zeal,
and blow it up into an eager jQame for a mere opi-
nion, to divert you from occupying your attention
Tvith the more weighty matters of Christianity-
O be not ignorant of the various methods which
he uses to get an advantage against you, that he
may rob you of yoar treasure. The old serpent,
when he was young, outwitted our first parents in
their best estate ; and now that he is grown more
cunning by the experience of almost six thousand
years, and we more foolish in this dotage of the
world ; there is great danger of our being undone
by him. 0 let us watch and pray that we enter
not into temptation. Keep out of Satan's road;
hold him at a distanee; suspect his wiles 5 and
60 resist his power, that neither his seven heads
by plotting, nor his ten horns by j)i^shing, may
deprive us of our precious treasure.

2. Fill not your hearts with the world. Carnal
men are exclusively devoted to the world, and are,
therefore, called, "the men of this world/' that
have their poi-tion here. Such a state of mind is
totally ineonsisteiat with the possession of heavenly
treasure ; for tJie more jo.u admii ths world mis

226 irEART-TKEASirRE.

your lieavts, the more you thrust out divine things.
As the shining sun eats oat the burning fire, or as
the abundance of weeds sucks up the virtue of the
earth that should nourish the plants and fruit
trees; so do riches choke the ward by a wicked
eneroachment which they make upon the heart.
The love of the world jostles out the love of God.
Love and royalty can endure no rivals. It is true,
that ireligion begets wealth, but the daughter de-
vours the mother. Worldly-mindedness is directly
opposed to heavenly treasures. O let not your
hearts be in the world, though your heads and
hands are in it. The heart is to be reserved for
God. Tf idols are brought into that shrine, Christ
will bo banished from it. When riches increase^
set not your hearts upon them. In primitive
times, the saints east their money and estates at
the apostles'' feet, thereby signifying, says an an-
cient writer, '' that they were fitter to be trodden
on, than doted on, on rather to be a step^-stone to
divine things, than a burden on our backs.' ^ But
the sad truth is, that to many these outward
things are rather a stumbling block to east them
down, than a footstool to lift them up. It is
better to be without great estates, than to have
them foi' a snare. Tremble lest you be over-
charged with the cares of the world, or be be-
Yiitclied with earthly delights. Be not like that

ITS INCREASE. 227

carnal Cardinal, who preferred his part in Paris to
his part in Paradise; but say, as did a noble Gre-
cian commander to a common soldier, "Thou art
not Thcmistocles, take this trash to thee )^^ for so
he called the Persian spoils, consisting of richest
jewels and goodliest ornaments. Thus do thou
scorn to load thyself with such unworthy baggage.
Cast out those wares that will sink the ship of the
soul. One staff will help you in your journey,
but a bundle will prove a grievous burden. A
garment fit for the body is easy and useful, but
one that is too wide, or with a long train, is in
dano;er of becominfr troublesome both to the wearer
and to others. I would not, indeed, have you
despise the temporal mercies of God; yet make
them not your chief portion. Install not the
world in the throne of your hearts. Let not your
precious souls, like the serpent, feed on dust. If
you possess much of the world, let it not possess
you. Here it is, that you have most cause to fear
for yourselves. How many Demases are hereby
shipwrecked ! How many Sampsons have lost
their best strength in the arms of this Delilah !
Alas ! thousands have been cheated of their spirit-
ual riches by its syren songs, and bewitching
charms ; and, therefore, let us stand at a distance
from it; and make no friendship with it. We
have far more reason to dread its fawnings than its

228 HEART-TREASURE.

frowns. A false friend will prejudice us more
than an open foe. Let no earthly treasure take oflf
our minds from that Avhich is heavenly, lest we
diminish the divine stock with which our souls are
furnished.

3. Mortify the corruption of your hearts. Cast
out those intestine enemies, carnal affections. Sin
and grace are like two scales, — as one goes up, the
other goes down ; or like two buckets, — as the one
ascends full, so the other descends empty. The
more the heart is charged with sin, the more
vacant is it of goodness. Sin is the thief in the
candle that dims our light and comfort. Sin is
the mire in the channel that stops the current of
grace. Sin is the prodigal that wastes our fair
revenue ; the canker that mars all our enjoyments;
the chief drawback to high attainments; the great
barrier between God and the soul, which hinders
communion with Him and communications from
Him. The Devil, the world, and the flesh, are
our most mischievous and mortal enemies ; but of
these the flesh is the nearest, and, therefore, the
worst. Hence fleshly lusts are said peculiarly to
fight against the soul. Temptations, which pro-
ceed from our own hearts, are of all others most
dangerous. Unless the wicked one find something
in us he can have no advantage against us. But
our base hearts entertain little thieves within,

ITS INCREASE. 229

which open the door to Satan without, who comes
to spoil us of our treasure. Take heed, therefore,
of this wily, beguiling thing. Touch not the for-
bidden fruit; admit no parley with lust; commit
no sin, though ever so secretly. A secret way of
spending has exhausted large estates. Heart-sins,
dallied with, and delighted in, will do your souls a
deadly mischief. A privy stab may let out your
life-blood, and an unexpected leak may sink a well
laden ship. Let the Christian, therefore, when
tempted to the commission of secret sin, say, with
pious Joseph, " How then can I do this great
wickedness, and sin against God ?" Consider how
unsuitable and incongruous it is for a vessel of
mercy to admit iniquity. It is as if a cup of gold
were filled with the vilest filth. 0 let not your
precious souls be filled with the loathsome impuri-
ties of sin ! Remember your dignity and your
duty, and ^'keep yourselves from an evil matter.^^
" Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness ;'' mortify your earthly members; pos-
sess your vessel in sanctification and honor ; purge
out all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and thus you
will not only maintain, but increase your treasure.
4. Observe the impulses of God's Spirit. Yield
to His gracious and blessed monitions. Grieve
Him not, lest you provoke Him to leave you. He
is easily grieved, and will deal with you as you
20

280 HEART-TREASURE.

deal with Him. Christ Jesus has left the Holy
Comforter to supply His place, and now the Spirit
is God's great Factor in the world. If He knock
at your door, He comes to do you good. 0 slight
Him not lest you incur an irretrievable loss. The
Spirit never puts you upon duty, but He calls you
to some profit. Now, it is good sailing when you
have wind and tide to help you. Improve this
advantage, lest if you miss it, you be left to your
own strength, and then what can you do ? The
Spirit is that gentle nurse and strengthening hand
that helps the infirmities of the dead or daunted
child of God in prayer. 0 refuse not His assis-
tance. The Spirit is that holy fire, which sets the
soul in a flame for God. 0 quench it not. He
comes attended with a goodly train of graces and
comforts, called the fruits of the Spirit ; and,
therefore, labor to be filled with these fruits. It
is true, that you cannot expect to have them as
Christ had them, beyond measure ; yet your por-
tion will be a treasure, and will help you to main-
tain and increase the heavenly treasure in your
heart. The incomes of the Spirit promote re-
newed acts of grace. As the sea ebbs and flows
according to the influence of the heavenly bodies,
so does grace in the heart move according to the
operations of the Spirit. The more you yield
yourselves to the guidance of the Spirit, the m3re

ITS INCREASE. 281,

you will feel the assistance of the Spirit. This
will be a preservative from sin, a preparation for
duty, aa evidence of your state, and an entrance
into glory. If you thus "walk after the Spirit,"
" the peace of God," as well as the Crod of peace,
*' shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus." It shall maintain a constant guard over
you to prevent the furious assaults of your spiritual
enemies, and be a safe convoy to your soul, to
preserve it from rocks and sands, from storms and
pirates, till it reach the haven of eternal Peace. O
then, make much of the Spirit. Maintain fa-
miliarity with Him, and He will maintain your
treasure. Keep up intercourse with Him, and He
will keep His interest in you. Allies and con-
federates have the same friends and foesj and if
you have the Holy Grhost to take your part, you
shall be kept by the power of God, through faith
unto salvation. If received faith cannot keep you,
yet supporting power is able. Never have any
fallen out of the hands of God. I beseech you,
therefore, give up yourselves to the Spirit's gui-
dance and government, and He will be your guard
and defence. That God who preserves His peo-
ple's bones, will preserve their souls ; and He who
keeps the feet of His saints, will also keep the
fruits of His love within them. Cleave to Him
without wavering, and " He that is able to keep

232 HEART-TKEASURE.

you from falling, will present you faultless before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy/'

5. Carefully watch your hearts. Although God
has undertaken to guard you, yet you are bound to
guard yourselves. '' Keep thy heart with all dili-
gence/' In the Hebrew, the expression is very
full and emphatic, implying that, in or above all
keeping, thou shouldst take care of thy heart.
Thou mayest and must look to other things ; but
above all, let thy eye be most intent upon the
frame of thy heart, and thy study most directed to
it. But why so ? What great need of industry
in watching the heart? Because, ''out of it are
the issues of life." All our treasure is there —
our greatest stock and store. If the heart be ne-
glected, our wealth is exposed to hazard. Keep
thy heart, therefore, with all diligence; lock up
thy treasure, and set a guard upon it; admit no
strangers into this closet; let not other things
make an inroad upon thee, or at least, a thoroughfare
of thee. There is no keeping a treasure in a common
room. A man that fears for his purse in a strange
place, has always an eye upon it, and dares not let
it go out of his sight. In a time of great robbing,
a stranger suspects every one, and goes not forth
unarmed. 0 consider you are strangers on this
earth. Many thieves are abroad. They aim at
you. They have plundered many of their trea-

ITS INCREASE, 233

sures, and cast down many strong men wounded.
Look, then, about you; keep strict watch; be not
found asleep on guard, like the foolish virgins, or
Christ's own disciples; but gird up your loins,
watch and be sober. And if drowsiness at any
time seize on you, rub your eyes, shake off sloth,
and awake out of sleep. When any one knocks at
your door, boldly ask, who is there ? Whence
comest thou ? Art thou a messenger sent from
God, or from Satan ? Art thou for me, or against
me ? What is thy end or errand ? Make your
thoughts stand still, till they have undergone an
impartial trial, whether they have a pass and com-
mission under the great seal of Heaven, and are
warranted by the Word, and tend to the glory of
God, and the eternal good of the soul. And
though vain thoughts may sometimes step into thy
heart ; yet suffer them not to lodge there ; for thy
heart is not thine own ; thou dost but keep it for
thy Lord and Master. There He hath laid up a
treasure ; and if any thing be wanting through thy
fault, thou canst not give a good account, but must
be exposed to shame, and grief, and loss. Princi-
pally and particularly watch thy heart when thou
art before God in duty. Beware of distractions,
diversions, and excursions of spirit from God.
These will waste and weaken thy treasure, by
running out in a wrong channel, and diverting or
20*

234 HEART-TREASURE.

spoiling the souFs activity; for the narrow, shallow
spirit cannot mind many things at once. Besides,
wandering thoughts are as dead flies in the box of
precious ointment. These vain cogitations obstruct
the operations of grace, and insensibly steal away
the affections from Grod. Even dust, though
small, may hinder a clock from going. Raisft
your affections heavenward. Centre and settle
your hearts upon Grod. Say to distractions, as
Nehemiah did to his enemies, ^' I am doing a great
work, so that I cannot come down. Why should
the work cease, while I leave it and come down to
you V Thus do you say to your trifling hearts, it
is not fit that I should leave the work* of Grod, to
attend upon toys. I must mind my business, or I
shall go behind in my spiritual trade. That man
is in danger of becoming a bankrupt, who stands
gazing at others, or runs playing at foot-ball on
the market-day, when others are busy making bar-
gains, and getting money. 0 Christians, you
either gain something, or lose in every perform-
ance. If the heart be not fixed on God, you are
on the losing hand. Every thing is beautiful in
its season. Do what you do with all your might ;
pray when you pray ; work when you work ; but
let not these things interfere. Set not up any idols
in your hearts. Drive away that which may inter-
pose between God and your souls, as Abraham

ITS INCREASE. 235

drove away the fowls that gat upon the sacrifice.
The Jewish Rabbins say, that if a serpent bite a
man by the heel, while he is at his devotions, he
must not stop, nor stoop to shake it off; and
heathens have recorded instances of some that
have rather suffered their arms or legs to be burnt
with a coal from the altar, than move whilst sacri-
ficing. And should not Christians blush to think
what slight occasions will divert them from Grod in
duty? 0 learn from hence to be more instant
and intent in worshipping God, so that your trea-
sure may be preserved and augmented.

6. Be most jealous over yourselves after the
sweetest enlargements. There is the greatest dan-
ger after you have been with God, and have loaded
your souls with choicest treasures of refreshing in-
comes. I have observed, in Scripture, almost a
score of instances, in which saints have met with
their heaviest falls, immediately after God's doing
some signal thing for them, or their doing some
notable thing for God. And I appeal to experi-
enced Christians whether they have not sustained
the saddest shakings and losses, after the sweetest
gains. Dear, barren years usually succeed to those
of plenty. A great spending follows a time of
great ingathering. A long journey comes after a
good rest; and a sharp winter after a pleasant
summer. God in His wisdom usually lets Satan

236 HEART-TREASURE.

loose upon such as He has armed for the combat.
Paul had Satan's messenger to buffet him after
abundant revelations. Peter acted a devil's part
in dissuading Christ from suffering, after he had
acted an angel's part in acknowledging Him for
the Messiah. Negligence has undone many an
army, after famous victories. The conquered have
gathered strength, and returned upon the con-
querors when they were dividing the spoils. So is
it often in the experience of the Christian. When
the soul has been with God, and got its vessel well
fraught with spiritual riches, then it is in greatest
danger of pirates. Then Satan bestirs himself
most. His malice and policy take that as the fittest
season to foil and plunder the well-laden soul.
And then, too, the soul is most apt to grow secure
and carnally confident, and so gives Satan the
greatest advantage. As a man who, having run
fust, or worked hard, sits down and cools suddenly,
endangers his health and life; so when the heart
has been sweetly warmed with the love of God,
and powerfully affected in a holy duty, it is then
most in danger of a spiritual ague — a chill fit of
deadness; for such a one blesses himself, and
thinks now he may sit still, and take his ease, and
then comes a fall. This is the believer's round ;
this his fluctuating condition in the world. Peter
confesses Christ nobly j then magnifies himself too

ITS INCREASE. 237

confidently; then denies his Master shamefully;
and at last goes out and weeps bitterly, and so
is kindly received by his loving Lord. Thus is it
with us all. Our course through this howling
wildernesSj is one of constant change, — now on
the mountain, now in the slough — backward and
forward — uphill and downhill — sinning and re-
penting, repenting and sinning. But how sad is
it, that a Christian should so soon forget his en-
largements, and so soon return to folly, after his
heart is broken, and peace has been imparted to
him ! 0 why should the soul so quickly turn out
of the way, in which it so lately had such encou-
ragements ? Why should we give Satan such oc-
casion to represent and insinuate to the God of
heaven, that His servants will not continue with
Him, for all His present rewards, and promises of
future happiness ? Ah, is there not much reward
in keeping God's commandments ? Is there not
more pleasure in holiness, than in any sin ? Why
should you think to eke out your spiritual delights
with sensual pleasures? Reflect seriously upon
what I say, and be afraid to stain your milk-white
souls, that are newly washed in the blood of the
Lamb, by wallowing in the mud of sin. Be
ashamed to dishonor God, to torment yourselves,
to gratify your grand enemy, and lose that in an
instant, which was so hardly obtained. Be not

238 HEART-TREASURE.

high-minded, but fear. Be jealous over your-
selves, with godly jealousy. Eejoice with trem-
bling ; cast not off fear, nor restrain prayer before
God. Keep your conscience tender, your eyes
open, and your hearts resolved. Pray that the
spiritual impressions which have been made upon
your minds, may be deepened and perpetuated by
the continued influence of the Divine Spirit. For,
alas, the best man on earth, is no more than the
Lord hourly makes him. We are like a staff that
must fall, if the hand be removed, or a stone that
descends, if not constantly carried upwards. If we
were as good as Paul or Peter, we should fall
foully, without supporting grace. Be, therefore,
jealous of yourselves after enlargements, and take
heed, lest by security, you become a prey to the
Devil.

7. Another help for continuing and increasing
this good treasure of the heart, is, to be frequent
and exact in examining the heart. Review care-
fully and often the frame of your spirits. Com-
mune with your heart, and ask what it gets or
loses every day. Wise tradesmen often investigate
their accounts; and provident housekeepers look
into their provision to see how it holds out, and
where there is most danger of want. 0 Christian !
be serious in this self-sifting work, and keep a
distinct reckoning how things are with you,

ITS INCREASE. 239

whether you are gaining or losing ground. Cen-
Bure yourself as sharply as if you were your own
enemy. Study your state, try your ways, deal
faithfully with your soul ; for you must undergo a
critical search at the great day ; and even in this
world, God may ^^ search you as with candles,"
and rouse you from your carnal security. Before
such a trying time shall come, endeavor to ascer-
tain clearly your true character and standing.
Compare what you are now with what you were
formerly. In this manner, you may form some
just idea of your real condition. Such a course of
rigid self-scrutiny will help you much against
losing ground. It will prevent apostacy, and will
prepare you for the work of thankfulness or of re-
pentance, according to what you find in your heart.
Even should the result of the trial be most dis-
tressing and alarming, yet the knowledge of this
fact will itself be an incentive and a means to
reparation. 0, then, take time to examine. In
the multitude of engrossments abroad, be not a
stranger at home. You will find work enough
there. Bishop Hall has well said, " The varieties
of an ever changing condition, whilst we are in
this vale of misery, cannot be without perpetual
employment for a busy soul. Therefore, 0 God,
let me be dumb to all the world, so that I may
have a toncirue for Thee and mine own heart/^

240 HEART-TREASURE.

In the same spirit are these lines of the devout
Herbert.

" Sum up at night what thou hast done by day,
And in the morning, what thou hast to do.
Dress and undress thy soul, mark the decay

And growth of it ; if with thy watch, that too
Be down, then wind up both ; since we shall be
Most surely judged, make thy accounts agree."

8. Be timely in repairing spiritual decays. If
you find your piety declining, rest not satisfied for
a moment. Let not an ill matter go on, for the
further it proceeds, the worse it becomes. A little
rent in a garment, if neglected, grows large and
incurable. A breach in an embankment is quickly
closed at first; but in process of time it is widened
to a destructive inundation. Suits in law are
easily adjusted in the beginning; and differences
amongst friends may be soon composed at their
commencement. But when contentions beget ani-
mosity, and then a mutual grudge, the agreement
is rendered exceedingly difficult. If you miss
your way upon a road, you may, at first, readily
step back, and rectify your error ; while the longer
you persist in a wrong direction, the more labo-
rious and uncertain will be your return. Many
diseases, which have proved fatal in the end,
might have been cured, had they been looked to
in time. It is, therefore, a great principle of

ITS INCREASE, 241

practical wisdom, to resist the beginnings of evil.
It is far easier to keep out an enemy, than to turn
him out when he has once gained a lodgment.
The juice of a lemon may be wiped from a knife,
when first sprinkled on it, so that no stain shall
remain; but, by abiding there, it corrodes the
metal, and leaves an indelible impression. So
guilt is more easily removed immediately after it
is contracted, than when it is long deferred.
Delay doubles the criminality, and makes the
wound deeper. Peter, by a speedy repentance,
had his peace C[uickly restored; while David's
long absence from God procured for him a heavier
burden, and more bitter sorrows. And from this
sad experience, he learned in after times not to
postpone the work of amendment and obedience.
^' I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto
Thy testimonies." I made haste, and delayed not
to keep Thy commandments." 0 reader ! learn,
like him, to cast off all procrastination. Vow this
day, that you will give yourself no rest, " till you
have found a place for the lord" in your heart.
Let not the night close upon you, until you can
say, through grace, that your soul rests in God,
and God rests in His love to you; and if you die
in that sleep, you shall sleep in Jesus. Go to
God, with all your darkness and declension, and
sa}^ to Him, " Lord, I feel my heart growing hard
21

242 HEART-TREASURE.

and dead. Thou dost not grant me Tliy wonted
presence. Sin is encroaching upon nic ; tempta-
tions prevail against me ; my spiritual aifeetions
are becoming languid ) and all seems going to
wreck within mc. Yet I am not sati&fied with
this declining state. I cannot live at a distance
from Thee. I dare not neglect the means of my
recovery. 0 revive Thy work. Restore Thy
quickening Spirit. Repair and make visible in
my soul Thy glorious image, which consists in
* knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness.'
Renew in my heart former aflfections, and let me
again rejoice in Thy wonted favor." Thus betake
yourself, first to your own heart, and then to God.
Use your utmost endeavors to recruit with speed
your treasure of truths, graces, comforts, and expe-
riences. As a candle, newly extinguished, will
quickly catch fire; so the smoking flax of your
expiring piety will quickly blaze up afresh, and
send the warmth of holy love and joy into every
corner of your cold and cheerless bosom. Say
with the same sweet Herbert, whom I just now
quoted,

" Sin is Still hammering my heart,
Unto a hardness void of love ;
Let softening grace, to cross his art,
Drop from above."

9. Diligently employ whatever gifts you have

ITS INCREASE. 243

received, in seeking to promote the good of others.
Mental and spiritual treasures have this pecul-
iarity, that the more they are expended, the more
they increase. '' Give, and it shall be given unto
you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken
together, and running over, shall men give into
your bosom. For with the same measure that ye
mete withal shall it be measured to you again."
We see that, in other things, use makes prompt
and perfect. It is chiefly use which makes the
right hand stronger than the left. A key much
used is bright, while disuse makes it rusty. A
pump, much used, brings forth water easily and
abundantly. Thus it is in human learning, gifts,
and graces — giving enriches the giver. " A libe-
ral soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth
shall be watered also himself." A liberal soul, as
the Hebrew word signifies, is a soul of blessing,
because it is a blessing to others, and is the more
blessed by God; for to him who uses well what
he has, shall more be given. The principles of
grace were not imparted to you by God, that they
might lie dead and buried in your heart. You
are to stir up His gifts within you; to employ
your stock, and put your money in circulation.
True piety is always active and diffusive. How-
ever excellent a thing may be in itself, it is prac-
tically worthless, if it be unemployed. The richest

244 HEART-TREASURE.

soil is of no value without cultivation. There is
doubtless in the bowels of the earth, inaccessible
to all human art and labor, a world of precious
metals ; but who is the richer for them ? It is
improvement which gives a value to all blessings.
A penny in the purse is worth many talents at the
bottom of the sea. That is our good, which does
us good, and by which we do good to others ; and
the more we do good, the more we are good. Be
active, therefore, for God. Read, pray, meditate,
instruct and exhort with all long suffering and
doctrine. Do every thing with your might, as
men who are bound straight for heaven your-
selves, and would draw as many with you as you
can. 0 how this will enrich you, and increase
your stock ! Impress deeply and effectually on
your minds the important truth, that it is the pro-
perty of real grace to be communicative, and that
the blessing annexed to such an exercise of it is
perpetual growth. The Christian gets most by
giving most. God helps those who are ready to
help the souls of others.

10. Be thankful for treasures received. Give
God praise, and He will give you more grace.
As our gratitude ascends to Him, His mercy
descends to us. Man's blessing God brings down
more blessings from God. Adore free grace, and
you shall have more fruits of free grace. You are

ITS INCREASE. 245

bound to bless God for worldly comforts and
earthly treasures ; how much more, then, for hea-
venly riches. Should we bless Ilim for filling
our houses with goods, and satisfying our appetites
with bread; and shall we not bless Him for filling
our minds with truth, and our hearts with grace ?
Must we bless Him for a crust, and shall we not
much more for a Christ ? Shall we thank Him
for earth, and not for heaven ? I fear Christians
are greatly deficient in this delightful and angelic
duty of praise. They complain much of their de-
fects and imperfections; and this is good in its
proper place, and season, and proportion, as tend-
ing to humble them, and to excite them to more
earnest endeavors for a better state. But, at the
same time, you ought to be thankful for what you
are, and for what you have. Humility and grati-
tude are very consistent, and mutually strengthen
each other. You may and ought to bewail your
barrenness. Yet you must also praise God for
whatever degree of fruitfulness you are enabled to
exhibit; for all you have attained is the effect of
His special grace. From Him alone is your fruit
found. He alone hath tilled, and sown, and given
the increase ; and to Him belongs all the praise.
Pay, then, for the old with thanks, and obtain
new by faith. Admire His free grace, that you
have any spiritual incomes. Though you have
2P

246 HEART-TREASURE.

not what you desire, yet you have more than you
deserve, and so much as to call for devout thank-
fulness. He is a churlish creature, who drowns
past kindnesses in a sea of desires after more.
I appeal to thine own conscience, whether thou
hast not something in thy soul worth thanks.
Ilast thou not seen thy sin and misery, and laid
them more to heart than outward troubles ? Dost
thou not prize communion with God above all the
world, and long for it more than for all earthly
delights? You cannot deny that you have re-
ceived sweet impressions of divine truth, and had
many experiences of the loving kindness of God.
You cannot deny that some measure of grace and
comfort has been imparted to you; and that,
feeble and trembling as your hope of salvation
often is, it is still the one star that gilds your
horizon, and shines upon the otherwise unbroken
darkness of your pilgrimage. Enumerate your
mercies, and you will soon see ample occasion
for gratitude. Especially, recount your spiritual
blessings '' in heavenly things in Christ Jesus.''
Thus, when the holy Psalmist would stir up all
within him to praise God, he begins by reckon-
ing up his spiritual mercies. And canst thou not
say, that God has satisfied thy heart, and reple-
nished thy soul '^ with good things ?" Lay thy
band upon thy heart, and ask it whether thou hast

ITS INCREASE. 24-7

not abundant cause of tliankfuluess ? If so, then
praise and bless Him accordingly. One great end
which God has in view in bestowing mercy, and
in answering prayer, is, that the soul may be
drawn more closely to Him in love and gratitude.
This is the tribute of glory which is due from the
creature to the Creator ; and to call it forth is a
promiaent design of the Divine dispensations, both
in providence, and in grace. 0, then, I beseech
you, show not yourself ungrateful. Praise God
for what you have received, and for the sure
ground on which you hope for more. Perform
your duty, aoid trust Him for the fulfillment of
His promise. Bless Him that He has laid up so
large a treasure ia Christ for needy souls. Bless
Him that He has already laid out so much on the
myriads whom He has redeemed, and brought t©
heaven, and filled to overflowing with grace and
glory. And bless Him that He has begun the
same process of sanctification in your own heart,
and will not cease from it, until it is perfected in
eternal holiness and joy. You are w-ont, it may
be, to question the reality and g-enuineness of the
work of grace within you. But the practice of
this duty of thankfulness Vv'ill give you clearer
evidence of your sincerity ; will preserve whatever
grace you have, and be the means of farther /icces-
^ioss to it. The apostle Paul has linked an thank-

218 HEART-TREASURE.

fulness and unboliness together, as connected steps
in the same dread descent. So, on the other hand,
in your upward progress towards heaven, the more
thankful you are, the more holy you will be. God
loves and blesses the grateful worshipper. Praise
is comely in His sight, and thankful souls shall
receive the richest tokens of His favor and bless-
ing. Who was ever loaded with more riches of
grace than Paul ? And who was ever more full
of thankfulness, or sounded out the praises of God
in more emphatic strains ? Praise was on bis lips,
because grace was in his heart ; and the more he
magnified grace, the more grace was increased
within him. Every breath, let out in praise, drew
in new supplies of grace. Thus do yon glorify
God, and He will satisfy you — pay Him this rent,
and He will not turn you out of doors — give Him
this tribute, and you shall have your freehold.
Praise Him for the little you have here, and you
shall have fulhiess of grace and glory for which to
praise Him through all eternity.

" Thou that Kast given so mu-ch to me.
Give ono tiling more — a grateful heart.
See how Thy beggar works o<n Thee,

By art.

He makes Thy gifts oecasioa morey

And says, If he in this be crost,.

All Thoa ha^t gr.rea him heretofore

Is loa^. ~

ITS INCREASE. 249

But Thou didst reckon, -nhen at first

Thy word our hands and hearts did crave,
"What it would come to at the worst

To save.

Perpetual knockings at Thy door,

Tears sullying Thy transparent rocma^
Gift upon gift — much would have more,
And comep.

This notwithstanding, Thou went'st on,

And didst allow us all our noise ;
Nay, Thou hast made a sigh and groan

Thy joys.

Not that Thou hast not still above

Much better tunes than groans can makej
But that these country-airs Thy love

Did take.

Wherefore I cry, and cry again ;

And in no quiet canst Thou be.
Till I a thankful heart obtain

Of Thee.

Not thankful, when it pleaseth me ;

As if Thy blessings had spare days;
But such a heart, whose pulse may be

Thy praise."

Hebbert.

CHAPTER XV.

MEDITATION A MEANS OF INCREASING HEART-
TREASURE : SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION.

Among the directions for maintaining and pro-
moting religion in the soul, the practice of devout
meditation should hold a prominent place. Yet,
as this topic is of large extent, and specially im-
portant, I have deemed it most proper to give it a
.separate consideration. In presenting it, I shall
set before you some of the most appropriate sub-
jects of meditation ; and then show the influence
of such meditation in preserving and invigorating
holy aifections.

Christian meditation is the contemplative and
earnest fixing of the mind on the great spiritual
realities which the Bible has revealed to us. It
should be connected with prayer and the study of
Scripture, to awaken and inspire it, and to furnish
it with suitable themes ; yet it differs from both.
Prayer is the converse of the soul with God ; the
direct outpouring of its wants and desires before the
throne of Infinite Mercy. The reading of Scrip-
ture is the exercise by which the soul seeks to

(250)

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION. 251

learn God's will, and to gather in the communica-
tions which He has made of His character and
purposes. But meditation is the soul's conference
with itself; the discourse which it holds with
truth obtained, and impressions received, in the
secret sanctuary of its own consciousness. It is
not simple revery or aimless speculation; nor is it
a mere effort of the memory to recall and treasure
up religious instruction. It is the set and solemn
endeavor of the soul to bring home to itself divine
things ; and so to revolve, ponder, and digest them,
as to work their transforming power into every
clement and faculty of its being. The subjects of
thought best suited to such an exercise will now
be laid before you. You are not, however, to sup-
pose, that the entire enumeration is to occupy you
at any one time. This is not practicable, and would
not be the most judicious method, if it were. In
order that you may derive the fullest benefit from
meditation, it should be engaged in at regular in-
tervals, either immediately before or after your
seasons of private devotion ; and, at each of these
periods, you will find it most useful to employ
yourself particularly on some one department of
truth, provided you do not view it as isolated, but
in its broad and comprehensive relations to the
whole system of truth. Thus traverse successively
the different portions of the vast field of Diviuo

252 TIEART-TREASURE.

Revelation, until its entire compass shall have
been brought within the scope of your contempla-
tions.

Let your thoughts be exercised upon the infinite,
eternal, and incomprehensible majesty of God.
Here, it is true, you launch upon a boundless and
fathomless ocean; but, guided by the chart of
Scripture, and confining your search within the
range of its discoveries, you will not v>'andcr into
unprofitable aad irreverent speculations, or lose
yourself in recesses which no finite intellect can
explore. Let your meditations be of the following
purport. 0 what a holy, omniscient, omnipresent
Spirit is the almighty Maker and Possessor of
heaven and earth ! What transcendent mysteries
are locked up in the Trinity of Persons, in the
Unity of Essence ! How impossible is it for a
mortal eye to penetrate the inaccessible light in
which Deity is veiled ! ^' No man hath seen God
at any time." Yet, " the Only Begotten Son, who
is in the bosom of the Father, hath declared Him."
In the person of an incarnate Eedeemer I see God
embodied, and made manifest to human sense. In
His character and offices, I behold a glorious re-
flection of the Divine attributes, and read an ex-
hibition of wisdom, power, holiness, justice, good-
ness and love to the sons of men, which astonishes
and awes, while it melts and subdues me. By

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION. 253

these, I know and feel what a Being Je'hovah is.
0 how inexpressible is the glory of His nature !
The heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. He
is the King of kings, and Lord of lords. He
sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabi-
tants thereof are as grasshoppers. He is clothed
with honor and majesty; thousand thousands
minister unto Him, and ten thousand times ten
thousand stand before Him. He is the God in
whose hands my breath is, the Searcher of hearts,
the Hearer of prayer, the Lord of Hosts, the King
of saints. 0 my soul, adore Him for His great-
ness, fear Him for His justice, love Him for His
goodness, trust Him for his faithfulness, worship
Him in the beauty of holiness, and delight thyself
in His matchless perfections.

Fix your thoughts on the works of creation.
Study this varied and speaking volume, in every
page of which you will lind fresh matter for won-
der and reverence. As you look out over the
expanse of land and sea, or upward to the starry
firmament, thus reflect within yourself. - Surely,
this goodly fabric proclaims aloud the glory of the
Creator. How full and rich is the earth which He
has made; how vast the compass of the skies,
which He has stretched out as a curtain ! How
admirably hath He laid the beams of His cham-
bers in the waters, and suspended the earth upon
22

£51 llKAirr-TRFASlTRK,

nolliini;! llow iirinly liatli llo Imilt TTis storios
ill llu> li(>:iV(Mis, niul lix(>(l tlio nloilous ('(insti'lliitions
:is ((imitains of li«2;li(: ! () wliiit l»raiil}' must, (lioro
1)0 ill '' llio l^'allicr of lin;h(s," whoso word kindled
all ihoso rosj)londent liiiniiiarios ! And wliilo thoso
stupendous orbs dcolaro 1 1 is power, the least, and
lowest of Ills works no less expressively show forth
His praise. ]<]very creature has a tongue to speak
the wisdom of its Author. Kaeh herb, plant,
flower — each blade of grass, twig or leaf, worm or
fly, scale or feather, billow or meteor — is full of
mysteries that puz/de the most jirofound j)hiloso-
phy, and evince the (>xhaustless skill and resources
of the nnivcM-sal IMaker. And how adapted is all
to the purposes for which it was formed I What
])roots of bem^fieent design and admirable contri-
vance are nianifosted in the structure of man and
beast — in the mechanism of the earth and skies —
in the succession of day and night — in the change
of the seasons — and in all the varied and compli-
cated processes by which Nature works out her
appointed ends ! Kvery where I behold the foot-
steps of (lod. " The invisible things of ITim, even
His eternal powcu' and ruHlhead, are clearly seen
from the creation of the world" — from the order,
beauty, and benelicence, whit'h pervade all the
work of His hands.

Contemplate the worth, the dignity, the imnior-

tallly oC your own .soul. You ciiiiuot- 1 liink williout
it, ii\u\ shouM you not, often think of \i'f Tliu.s
iiioditate; Wliut (Jiviiio Hpark i.s tlii.s, wliicli (jod
has broathed into a lump of pcriHlial)l(! cL'iy ?
VViiat i.s that, mysterious j)iincipl(: — thai, undying
(;HHenc(!, wliicli, implanted in my lio.som, (iistin-
guiHh(3S my nature; and my destiny from those of the
various orderH of animnl lif(; which L behold around
me? This imperishable soul, whieli Cjod has
created and placed in my dying body, is greater
and better than the world in which it dw(;lls, and
cannot be satisfied with all that tin; world can
give. It must live, in bliss or woe, when the
world shall be no njore. It is a spiritual being,
of the Ham(! nature with the angels, and like; them
can nev(;r die. It jjo.sse.saes vast energies, and eve r
active desires ; and, like the dove of Noah, flies
over the wide sea of the universe, but finds no
place on which to rest its weary affections. God
alone is the centre and the homo of this tossed
wanderer. The soul is capable of communion with
(iod in spiritual exercises, and in immortal happi-
ness; and, when dislodged from the body, it must
return to (jod, to receive from Ilim an eternal
pf>rtion of glory or of despair. 0 my soul, thou
art in constant motion, but whither art thou
moving? What art thou doing? What is tliy
condition? What will become of thee, when thou

256 HEART-TREASURE.

art summoned hence ? Soar upward, my soul, and
mind things above. Debase not thy noble nature
by the pursuit of objects below thyself. Seek to
be enriched with an interest in Christ, and to be
adorned with the graces of His Spirit. Make God
thy portion ; lay up thy treasure in heaven ; and
then return unto thy rest, for the Lord will deal
bountifully with thee.

Meditate on the Word of God. Let it dwell
richly in you, and let your thoughts dwell fre-
quently on it. What is in the Bible is God's;
but when transferred to your heart, it becomes
your own. Thus, then, ponder this delightful
theme. 0 the infinite condescension of Jehovah !
What is worthless man, that God should write to
him so large an epistle from heaven with the
hand of His blessed Spirit ? What care has God
taken to direct, incite, and encourage this fallen
and sinful creature to seek eternal happiness !
What precepts, promises, threatenings, examples,
has He set forth in His Word for our instruction
and salvation ! 0 the antiquity and authority,
the excellence and efficacy, the power and purity,
the perfection and sufficiency, the verity and per-
petuity of this Holy Book ! When I take it up,
methinks I take wonders into my hand ; and when
I look within it, I meet with mysteries, which the
wisdom of the world can never fathom, but through

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION. 257

whose depths a little child, led by the Divine
Spirit, may wade in safety. How plainly held
forth in it are those necessary truths and duties,
which lead the soul to God and heaven ! How
familiarly does God here converse with man I How
precious and how suited to my state are the pro-
mises contained in these inspired pages I Every
line has its weight, and comes to me as pertinently
as if my own name were inscribed in it. What
reviving does it bring to my heart ! Search all
human writings, and no such virtue or savor will
be found. O blessed be God hv the Holy Scrip-
tcires !

Let your thoughts dwell much on the glorious
works of Divine Providence. O how sweet are
they I Whoso is wise will consider them. Take
a view of the diversified aad wonderful dispensa-
tions of God in the government of the world.
Consider the days of old, and the years of many
generations. Eecollect what Scripture records of
the drying up of the sea j the roliijig back of Jor-
dan's waves ; the making the &un and moon hang
fixed and still in the firmament. Reflect on the
miracles of mercy towards the Church, and of judg-
on her enemieg. Consider, too, what wondei-s God
has wrought in thine own days, and before thine
own eyes. O what aational^ domestic, personal
dfiiiveraiiGes hast thoa seen ; delive^imGes that may
22*

258 irEART-TREAPFTTK.

well astf/Dish the atheist, and sileoce tinbelief for-
ever ! Thou eaDst not want matter for devout
meditation, if thou but take a strict survey of the
eourse of thine o>wn life. The paTticular provi-
denees which have taken place in i-eference to thy
soul, thy body, thy estate, thy friends, and all thy
concerns, arc enough to furnish thee with abundant
and fruitful themes for holy miLsing. Those deal-
ings of God which, seen in their beginning,, and m
their separate parts, appeared so harsh and un-
lovely, how beautiful arc they ®ow when beheld m
their complete dovclopment, and in their perfected
results ! You saw not then, but you have sinc^^
fully seen, what the Lord designed in liis strange
dispensations. 0 tlie happy connection, symmetr}^,
and harmony of all things, as thus directed by the
hand of PrO'vidence, and made to combinje in one
grand end — the glory of God, and the highest good
of His children!; "How unsearchable are His
judgments, and His ways past finding 0'<*t 1"

Think bumbly upon man's apostacy. Let your
thoughts often go ba@k to the origin of all our
present sinfulness; and wretchedness, in such re-
Sections as these. Woe is me ! Whence am I
fallen and whither? God made man "upright,
but he has sought out ^^lany inventions.'^ Mas
was "created after the image of God;" now he is
defaced, aftei: the iiaa^re of the DeYih Once ho

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION. 259

was entire and straight; now he is tleformcd and
crooked in all his fiicultics. Once he was holy
and happy; now he is filthy and subject to all
misery. Once he was the darling of God, lord of
the world, and a fit companion for the blessed an-
gels ; now he is the enemy of his Maker, the slave
of Satan, and the basest part of the whole creation.
0 mutable free will, that chose to fall, when it
might have chosen to stand ! 0 how little was
the pleasure, and how lasting is the pain ! But
let me not find fault with Adam. If thou, my
soul, hadst been in his place, thou wouldsfc have
done as he did, for thou doest the same every day.
''Sin is the trangression of the law/' and this
holy law thou breakest every moment. 0 my
soul, what a miserable case art thou in ! AVhat
enmity to God, what aversion from good, what
tendency to all evil is in thy depraved nature !
Woe is me, where is the light in my understanding,
the rectitude of my will, the regularity of my af-
fections ? Where is the tenderness of my con-
science, the tenacity of my memory, and the vic-
tory over my corrupt and unruly passions ? Lord,
where am I, and what will become of me, unless
thy grace interpose to " deliver m.e from the body
of this death V

Think, 0 think much and deeply, on the amazing
work of man's redemr>tion. It well becomes the

260 HEART-TREASURE.

ransomed of the Lord to ponder, in lieart-melting
meditations, the way of their recovery. Come,
then, and survey this matchless wonder. Call up
all thy powers, and say ; Here stand and ruminate,
my soul, upon the sweet, transcendent contrivance
to save lost man. 0 why was it, that the heart of
God was moved for men, and not for devils ? They
were as near and dear to Him in their first estate,
and as perfect in their natures, as men. Was it
because man had a tempter, and they had none ?
Certainly not. For though that may be a truth,
yet it can furnish no reason why God should choose
men for salvation, and leave devils to be reserved
in chains of darkness unto the judgment of the
great day. No, no; free grace alone made the
difference. " Even so. Father, for so it seemed good
in thy sight.'' But what was the method of man's
redemption ? What were the mighty barriers to
be removed, before mercy could stretch forth her
hand to his rescue ? To open the way for this,
the Son of God, the Second Person of the glorious
Trinity, must become man, put himself in the sin-
ner's stead, assume his guilt, and make satisfac-
tion to Divine justice, by bearing in His own body
the penalty due to transgression. 0 stupendous
mystery ! 0 surpassing mercy ! Who could have
devised such a scheme ? Who durst have desired
such a thing, that God should part with His only

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION, 2G1

begotten Son for such an end ? 0 the manifold
Avisdom of God ! 0 the inconceivable love of the
Father in sending the Son, and of the Son in con-
senting to come, on such an errand ! " Great is
the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the
flesh." 0 the wonders in the strange union of
His divinity with humanity, in the completeness
of His person, in the fullness of His offices ! 0 the
bitterness of His temptations, His reproaches, His
agonies, His death — sharp to Him, sweet to us !
These will be subjects of deepest thought and of
loftiest praise, to the spirits of the justified, through
all eternity.

Meditate on the terms and provisions of the
Gospel. Often consider how, and upon what con-
ditions, Christ and all His benefits may be made
over to you. This you will find to be by a cordial
acceptance of Him in His mediatorial offices, as
the alone ground of justification, sanctification, and
redemption. In view of this gracious arrangement,
let such thoughts as these fill and dilate your bo-
som. 0 strange and boundless love ! God might
have appointed, as conditions of salvation, the per-
formance of unheard-of labors, or the endurance of
long years of sufi"eriug. He might have said. Thou
must either keep the moral law exactly, or die
eternally. But, instead of this. He has said, " Be-
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be

262 HEART-TREASURE.

saved." Nor lias He left thee, 0 my soul, to do
this by thine own strength, which had been as im-
possible as the former ; but He, who requires faith
of thee, promises to give faith to thee. Faith is
secured in the covenant no less than forgiveness.
Christ has purchased grace to believe as well as
salvation for believers. 0 blessed contrivance !
Every thing is laid upon our perfect and all-suffi-
cient Surety. He is exalted 'Ho be a Prince and
a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and the
forgiveness of sins." He is the Way, the Truth,
and the Life ; the Author and the Finisher of our
faith. He saves to the uttermost all to whom He
gives faith, and none of them shall ever miscarry.
This, this is the very marrow of the Gospel, that
Christ, as the Surety of believers, has undertaken
to bear them all to heaven, by the virtue of His
atonement, and by the power of His Spirit; and
He wants neither ability nor fidelity to fulfill His
engagement.

Think, and think again, what interest you have
in this Redeemer. All are not interested in Him.
All will not be saved by Him. Multitudes will
perish, even of those who hear the tidings of His
mercy. Meditate, then, upon thy spiritual condi-
tion. Thus question thy soul. What is thy
state ? Where is thy standing ? What share hast
thou in Christ ; what title to the promises of the

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION. 263

covenant? Hast thou a sound aud saving faith;
a thorough, heart-breaking and heart-melting re-
pentance ? I read in the word, that Christ becomes
the author of eternal salvation to all them that
obey Him. O my soul, hast thou given up thy-
self to Him in the obedience of faith ? What
operations of the Spirit hast thou felt for thy ef-
fectual calling? What regenerating work has
passed upon thee ? Art thou translated from death
to life, from darkness to light ? Art thou, indeed,
transplanted out of the old stock of thy corrupt
nature into the new and living Vine ? What per-
sonal application hast thou made of redeeming
grace ? Hast thou viewed a bleeding Christ with
a bleeding heart, and looked on Him, whom thy
sins have pierced, with contrite grief and believing
joy ? Hast thou accepted Jesus Christ in the full-
ness of His mediatorial character, as Prophet,
Priest, and King, to subdue thy lusts, guide thee
by His sceptre, and save thee in His own way ?
0 my soul, be serious in this inquiry. It is no
trifling matter, but of unspeakable moment to thee
for all eternity. The way is strait and narrow.
Thousands are deceived, and perceive not their
fatal mistake, till all hope of remedy is past. The
stroke of death will soon decide the question. 0
look to it, before that blow be given, lest it be
forever too late.

264 BEART-TliEASVKEr

When tbou hast obtained satisfactory evideBce
of thy interest in Christ, then think with comfort
on the rich privileges of believers. Here thou
may est have a spacious field for contemplation.
Grod allows thee to solace thy soul in such thoughts
as these. How incomparably excellent are the ad-
vantages conferred on the saints ! What sayest
thoUj my guilty, weary soul? Is it nothing to
have thy sins pardoned, thy debts paid, the bond
cancelled which Divine justice held against thee ?
Is not an assurance of pardon the sweetest of all
tidings to a criminal condemned to death, and
waiting the hour of execution ? And shall my
condemned soul receive an acquittal, signed and
sealed with atoning blood ? Shall my filthy, naked
soul be clothed with the blessed robe of Christ's
perfect righteousness ? 0 the riches of free grace !
Shall such a base and bankrupt beggar become
the beautiful spouse of the King of Glory? It
was infinite mercy that kept me thus long out of
hell; but shall the Lord also make this polluted
soul an heir of heaven ? Shall Jesus Christ be my
elder Brother, the Spirit my Comforter, and God
Himself my Father ? 0 boundless and bottomless
riches of free grace ! Moreover, my soul, thou
hast an interest in all the promises of the Gospel,
the assistance of the Spirit in prayer, and unlimited
access to the throne of mercy. The allotments of

SUBJECTS OP MEDITATION. 265

Providence all work for thy good ; the protection
of the Almighty is over thy person, and His
blessing on thy undertakings. Thou hast fellow-
ship with the Father and with the Son, the benefit
of communion with saints, and the attendance and
service of holy angels. God, thy Redeemer and
Upholder, will guide thee through life with His
counsel, and at death receive thee to glory. And
is not this the very height of preferment ? Can
thy most eager and soaring thoughts reach any
further? No, no, my soul, God hath done for
thee more than thy expectation, and all thy
desire.

Now, then, my soul, reflect upon the obligations
under which thou art thus laid. What does God
require of thee in return for all these rich and
royal favors ? 0 set thyself to study duty ; bring
all thy feelings under a sense of the law of thank-
fulness; pray God to engrave that blessed law
deeply on thy inmost powers ; and, in the light of
its teachings, consider well what thou oughtest to
do. But here thou art brought to a stand. Alas,
what returns can I make to my God for all
these benefits ? What can a, poor, worthless worm
do towards requiting infinite kindness. Myself,
and all I am, or can do, are God's due; and here,
0 Lord, I offer up all to Thee, as a living sacrifice,
and as a most just and reasonable service. 0
23

266 HEART-TREASURE.

that it may be acceptable through Jesus Christ I
My heart, my lips, my life shall praise Thee.
'' Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and all that is within
me, bless His holy name." 0 that my heart were
well tuned to sing the song of Moses and the
Lamb ! Alas, my soul, how low and dull thou
art ; how cold and sluggish in thy poor returns for
these rich receipts ! Surely, thou wilt strike a
sweeter and higher strain amongst the heavenly
choir of saints and angels in eternal mansions. In
the mean time, wake up thy drowsy heart ; elevate
the tone of thy affections ; abound in the work of
thankfulness ; lay thyself out for the glory of thy
Redeemer ; serve Him with greater zeal and faith-
fulness ', offend Him no more by thy ungrateful
neglect; walk with God, wait upon Him, worship
Him with all thy strength ; do all thou canst in
thy generation ; hasten on apace towards heaven,
and lift up thy head with exulting desire and hope,
for the day of thy redemption draweth nigh.

Meditate much and seriously on the evil of sin.
Think how offensive it is to God, how destructive
to the soul; and let the view of its hatefulness
lead you to abhor it, and to resist its workings in
yourself. In this manner feel and speak concern-
ing it. 0 what a monstrous, shocking, venomous
thing is sin ! It is the very epitome of all evil ;
more foul than the Devil himself; and so im-

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION. 267

measui'ably vile and abominable, that the most
loathsome creature that crawls is fair and pure
compared with it. It is a heart-plague, more ter-
rible than all the bodily plagues and diseases to
which man is subject — aye, worse than hell itself,
for it made hell, and ever keeps alive its quench-
less fires. 0 sin, what hast thou done ? Was it
not sin that cast the angels out of heaven, Adam
out of Paradise, and has since cast thousands, yea,
tens of thousands of souls headlong into eternal
fire ? Was it not sin that drowned the old world,
that burnt the cities of the Plain, and that will, at
the last day, set the whole world in a flame ? Is
it not sin, and sin only, that provokes God, grieves
His Spirit, breaks His laws, and brings swift de-
struction on the impenitent? Nay, 0 my soul,
consider, was it not sin that betrayed, arraigned,
accused, condemned, crucified and buried the Lord
of Life and Glory? 0, then, who would have
aught to do with this polluting, murderous thing ?
What fruit hast thou, my soul, from thy past inti-
macy with it, but shame, misery, and death ? 0
what mischief it has done thee ! What grief, and
tears, and agonies has it cost thee ! Yet even
these are less bitter than its proper, fruit, eternal
damnation. God hates nothing but sin. 0, then,
my soul, hate thou sin with perfect hatred, and
have fellowship no more with its unfruitful works

268 HEART-TREASURE.

of darkness, lest thou offend the Holy One, gratify
Satan, and ruin thyself forever.

Meditate much on the vanity of the world, and
the uncertainty of all sublunary things. Often
read thyself lectures on the instability of temporal
possessions, and take off thine own fingers from
playing with them, lest God use some severer
course to lessen thy earthly attachments. Thus
think. 0 my groveling soul, why art thou so
fascinated with the world ? What is it that thou
seest in this garish strumpet to allure and entangle
thy affection ? How comest thou to dote upon her
painted beauty ? What real good, what solid com-
fort has she ever afforded thee ? What are her
profits but a little white and yellow dust, of the
same nature and origin with the vile and perishing
body in which thou dwellest, and far inferior to
thy noble self? What are her honors but sorry
bubbles, blown up by the breath of mutable men,
that can kiss and betray with the same lips, praise
and decry with the same slippery tongues ? What
are her pleasures but swinish epicurism, that de-
bases the best part of human nature, transforms
men into beasts, and leaves a stinging guilt behind ?
Alas, my soul, why wilt thou set thine eyes on
that which is not ? What will riches avail thee
in the day of wrath ? AVhcre is the hope of the
worldling, though he hath gained much, when

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION. 269

God taketh away his soul ? "What was Cain the
better for his fair cities, or Nimrod for his large
dominions, or Absalom for his beauty, or Ahitho-
phel for his policy, or Judas for his '' thirty
pieces,^' or Dives for his sumptuous fare? Hell-
fire burns up all these ; and heaven cannot be pur-
chased with them. Alas, the fashion of the world
passeth away, and when it is gone, what is a man
advantaged for having been a millionaire, a lord,
or a king ? Death brings to the same low level
the crown and the ploughshare, the princes' s scep-
tre and the beggar's staiF.

Exercise your thoughts on the present and final
state of all men, and on the vast difi'erence between
the respective conditions of the righteous and the
wicked in this world, and their allotment in the
world to come. Thus muse within yourself. I see
the wicked flourish. They enjoy the world at
will. They are not in trouble as other men, but
eat and drink, and laugh and play, and change
their sports for more delight, and wash their steps
with butter, and have more than heart can wish.
I see, on the other hand, the righteous afflicted by
God, tempted by Satan, persecuted by the world ;
chastened every morning, and lying down with
Borrow every evening; eating their bread with
bitterness, and watering their couch with tears.
0 the keen, heart-rending griefs which they en-
23*

270 HEART-TREASURE.

(liirCj from the witlulrawings of God's presence,
from the unkindncss of men, but especially from
their own inward corruptions ! Shall I, then, call
the former happy, and the latter miserable? God
forbid that I should so offend against the genera-
tion of His children. No, my soul, look not with
carnal, but with spiritual eyes. " Judge righteous
judgment." Know that he, and be only, is truly
happy, not on whom earthly prosperity smiles, but
who has the grace of God and the liope of heaven
in his soul. Search the Scriptures, and sec who
are there accounted happy. " Mark the perfect
man, and behold the upright, for the end of that
man is peace." Yes, his " end is peace" — the
harbinger and the beginning of eternal peace —
whatever may have been his troubles by the way.
Many a Croesus, on the contrary, has experienced
the truth of Solon's words, '' No man can be pro-
nounced happy, till we see him die." Often the
worldly enjoyments of the ungodly forsake them
before death. But even should they continue to
the last, yet when the grim Summoner appears,
they vanish away ; and their poor, deluded votary,
torn from earth and earthly delights, is driven into
an unknown world ; a world, for which he has no
preparation and no desire; in which he has no
God and no hope ; and where he has no treasure
but damnation, no home but the lake of firo.

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION. 271

0 my soul, wisely consider the present and the
eternal state of the righteous and the wicked, and
choose rather to endure affliction with the people
of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a
season.

Let your thoughts frequently dwell on the state
of religion around you, and on the condition and
prospects of the Redeemer's cause throughout the
world, that you may mourn or rejoice, pray or
praise, as Zion triumphs, or appears to suffer
defeat. On Paul's heart lay the care of all the
churches, and shall you feel no concern for them ?
Say then to yourself; Let me feel the pulse of
Christ's mystical body. How fares it with her ?
Is she in health, or is she sick? Under what
diseases does she labor? Do her sacred lungs
move strong and fast in prayer to God? Does
she flourish in the pure and powerful adminis-
tration of divine institutions ? Is she fair as the
moon in the holiness of her members ; clear as
the sun in the purity of her doctrines ; terrible as
an army with banners, in the strictness of her
discipline, and in the energy of her movements
against the powers of darkness? Do the lights
shine clear in her candlesticks ? Are her minis-
ters as flames of fire ? And do the faithful ^' walk
in the light of the Lord ?'' Do they " keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace/' and con-

272 HEART-TREASURE.

tribute to mutual edification ? Or are they alien-
ated and scattered by discord and divisions ? Are
they faithful and active in holding forth the word
of life, and striving to bring the ruined and the
lost of earth to the knowledge of redeeming mercy?
Or are they compromising their principles, and
losing their influence, by sluggishness, neglect,
and conformity to the world? 0 my soul, look
abroad over the great moral field, and exult or
weep, as truth or error shall seem to be in the
ascendant.

Think, 0 think often upon death, your own
death. 0 that you were wise to consider your
latter end ! Amongst all your thoughts, let some
be given to your dying day. Set a death's head
before you, and thus meditate. 0 what a fading,
dying creature I am ! I dwell in a tottering
tabernacle, in a house of clay, that is ready to be
crushed every moment like a moth. This vile
body of mine is made of perishable materials, and
my life is like a vapor. 0 my soul, thou lodgest
in a brittle case, which must soon be broken, and
may be suddenly ; and then thou launchest forth
into the vast ocean of eternity. Death will shortly
sever the bond that unites thee to thy companion,
the body. Nature abhors the dissolution; but
what says grace ? Is the sting of sin plucked out
by the death of Christ? Has the Lord of Life

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION. 273

warmed and perfumed the grave for thee ? Canst
thou look beyond death to glory, and welcome the
king of terrors as thy Father's messenger, to take
thee by the hand and lead thee into His palace and
presence-chamber? If thou hast a well founded
hope of God's love, thou wilt long, like a weary
traveller, to be at home and at rest. Thou wilt
desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far
better. See to it, then, my soul, that thou hast
not thy work to do, when thy time is gone. Be
ready for the fatal stroke. It is a solemn business
to die. It is to be done but once, and it must be
well done, or thou art undone forever. Look upon
every day as thy last ; and defer not till to-morrow
the repentance and faith required of thee to-day.
Thus, whenever called, thou wilt meet God in
peace, and be found of Him in peace.

Pass on a little further in thy meditations, and
contemplate the resurrection of the dead, and the
final judgment. 0 what an illustrious day will
that be, when the great trumpet shall sound, the
graves be opened, the dead raised, the living
changed; when the holy angels shall gather,
from the ends of the earth, the scattered dust of
all the saints, from righteous Abel to the latest
born of the Gospel, and, uniting the glorified soul
to the glorified body, convoy them up to meet
their Lord in the air, that they may with Him

274 HEART-TREASURE.

judge the world of ungodly sinners. Methinka,
too, I hear the howlings of despairing souls, whoso
bodies, dragged out of their tombs, are forced to
come trembling before the awful Judge. 0 fain
would they lie buried forever in darkness ! Appear
they dare not, yet appear they must, aud meet
the retributive award, which their own consciences
but too well anticipate. Methinks I see the throne
set, the books opened, and myriads of rational
creatures attending, to receive their irrevocable
sentence. On the right hand, stand the saints in
white raiment, lifting up their heads before their
beloved Husband, who absolves them, saying,
'' Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you.'' Welcome home from
a weary world — the eternal mansions are waiting
for you — sit down on these thrones — take these
palms of victory into your hands — I place these
crowns upon your heads — and you shall be with
Me forever. On the left hand, are ranged the
affrighted multitudes of the wicked, expecting the
dreadful doom, '' Depart ! ye cursed ;" wishing
they had never been, or that now they might not
be; and vainly calling to the senseless rocks to
fall on them, and hide them from the face of Him
that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of
the Lamb. The wrath of the Lamb ! 0 this is the
one terrible thought that withers their strength,

SUBJECTS or MEDITATION. 275

and fills them with speechless horror ! The de-
spised and insulted Saviour — the bleeding, dying
Lamb, whose sacrifice they mocked, and whose
love they rejected — is now their angry Judge.
Gladly would they avoid the sight, yet look they
must on Him whom once they pierced. Gladij
would they flee from His presence, but His ey©
of awful brightness is on them wherever they go,
blazing into their souls, and rendering them pow-
erless and hopeless. And now the voice, which
once cried, in mercy's sweetest accents, " Gome
unto me, and I will give you rest," falls on their
ears, in the thunder-tones of justice, pronouncing
the decree, never to be revoked, which consigns
them to everlasting punishment. They depart —
a shrieking throng — borne away by blaspheming
devils to the prison-house of despair.

Follow them, my soul, to that dire abode, and
survey the torments of hell. 0 what misery is
theirs ! They have lost the favor of God ; and
who can measure the depth of that loss? How
bitter is it to the children of God in this world, to
endure the brief withdrawals of His countenance !
What mournful complaints and entreaties have
such moments of desertion wrung from them !
But what is this, compared with everlasting ban-
ishment from the presence of the Lord, and from
the glory of His power ? It is this dreadful sense

276 HEART-TREASURE.

of expulsion, which forms one of the most fearful
ingredients in the anguish of the lost. Though
wicked men care not for God's presence here, yet
they shall feel to their cost what it is to want His
presence hereafter. And along with the loss of
God, they have lost all else, except suffering, and
the capacity for suffering. On every side, one
black horizon of wretchedness, in which gleams no
star of hope, shuts them in. Above them, sits
the enthroned Lamb, whose melting compassions
have become to them consuming wrath. BcDeath,
is the abyss of fire, yawning to receive them. On
their right hand, are the blessed saints, triumph-
ing in the execution of Divine justice, and entering
into their Master's joy. On their left hand, stands
that malicious Tempter, who drew them into sin,
and who is now as ready to draw them into hell,
there to torment them with himself for ever.
Behind them, are the vanished pleasures of earth,
and the abominations of a wicked life — before
them, an eternity of woe — within them, the gnaw-
ing worm that never dies — without them, old
companions in sin roaring under torture ; legions
of devils blaspheming God, and scourging their
fellow-prisoners ; their beloved idol, the world, all
in a flame ; and themselves weltering in the un-
quenchable fires of perdition. 0 my soul, gaze
on this dismal scene, and let the contemplation of

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION. 277

it inspire thee with fresh resolve to shun the way
to hell, and walk the way to heaven.

From these dreary realms of the damned, mount
lip in thought to the celestial home of the redeemed.
The glorious Bridegroom has received His ran-
somed 8pouse into the banqueting-house of eternal
joy. 0 the transporting raptures of that blessed
meeting ! Heaven echoes with the alleluias of
the saved. Sorrow and sighing are fled away.
Sin and sickness shall be known no more. Satan
with his fiery darts, and wicked men with their
persecuting rage, shall never invade that blissful
abode. There shall be no more complaints of weak
and decrepid bodies ; of ignorant and feeble minds ;
of cold and dead affections -, of unbelieving and dis-
tracted hearts. No cheek shall there be sullied
with a tear, for God shall wipe all tears from all
faces. There shall no sigh or groan ever be heard,
but voices of unceasing gladness, and hymns of
triumphant praise. God, the Fountain of all
blessedness, shall dwell among them, and be their
God. 0 how entrancing is a sight of God even
here ! "What, then, will it be above, where it is
immediate, constant, full ? There will be no need
of ordinances to bring Him to view. He Himself
will be the object of near and direct vision. It is
sweet to behold Him now in His word, in His
worship, and in His works; but it will be in-
24

278 HEART-TREASURE.

finitely sweeter then to gaze on His glory without
an intervening medium. We see now, at best, but
through a glass darkly ] then we shall see face to
face. And while the vision of God, and commu-
nion with Him, will thus constitute the chief
source of heavenly happiness, every thing else will
contribute to swell its overflowing stream. There
my soul shall be filled with all perfections, and
grace shall be complete. My mind shall expand
into angelic dimensions. My will shall be wholly
conformed to the Divine will. My afi"ections shall
be fixed on the Lord my God, with unbroken con-
stancy, and with fullness of delight. My body
shall shine as the brightness of the firmament,
being fashioned like the glorious body of the Ke-
deemer, " according to the working whereby He is
able to subdue even all things unto Himself
And thus shall my whole nature be perfectly fitted
for the employments of heaven, and the enjoyment
of God. There, too, shall I be surrounded by
pure and glorified ones. There shall I converse
with angels and archangels. There shall I asso-
ciate with patriarchs, and prophets, and apostles,
and martyrs. There shall I see the Christian
friends whom I have known and loved on earth.
O what a blessed reunion ! There we shall meet
to part no more, agree and fall out no more, rejoice
together and be sad no more. 0 happy day ! 0

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION, 279

delightful close of all grief, aud consummation of
all joy I Let the hope of its near approach cheer
thee, my faint and struggling soul, amidst the
labors aud sorrows of thy pilgrimage below.

Once more, my soul, fix thy thoughts upon
eternity. How canst thou forget it ? What is
this narrow point of time in comparison with the
endless ages of the life to come ? Alas, poor mor-
tals act a part for a while on this little stage, and
then depart into another world, where they must
dwell forey-er. And yet the life that now is,
though brief and insignificant in itself, is the seed-
plot of eternity • the preparatory season, on the
improvement or misimprovement of which depends
an everlasting state of weal or woe. O what
wretched folly is it to lose eternal happiness for
the transient pleasures of earth I What should not
one endure for a short moment here, to escape
never ending torments ! M.ethinks nothing is of
any importance, but as it relates to eternity. It
is eternity alone that gives emphasis to joy or sor-
row^ It is this which imparts to hea?7en the per-
fection of its triuiuph, and to hell tlie intensity of
its despair. How fearful is the thought, >that when
the lost spirit has suffered the pangs of ''the second
death'' for millions xind millions of years, its
misery is no nearer an end than when it first be-
gan ] 0 with what liltej Iiopele^^ness wiJl it sx.-

280 HEART-TREASURE.

claim, as it looks around the walls of its gloomy
dungeon — Here I must abide for ever ! 0 that 1
might be consumed so as not to be ! May I not,
can I not, be at last annihilated, and become as if
I had never been ? Is there no termination to
these tortures — no escape from these direful realms ?
None, none. The '' great gulf,'^ once crossed,
admits no return. So, on the other hand, eternity
increases and secures the bliss of the redeemed.
Here I am — the happy soul may say — and here I
shall be, through ceaseless duration, without the
slightest fear that my raptures will ever die, or bo
diminished. My state is better than that of Adam
in the earthly, or that of the fallen angels when in
the heavenly Paradise. These joys I shall never
lose. 0 what a permanent reward have I for the
brief sacrifices and conflicts of time ! My sorrow
is gone — my joy remains. How comes it to pass,
that those light afflictions, which were but for a
moment, have wrought out for me this exceeding
and eternal weight of glory ? I have not earned
it — ^I have not deserved it. No, no; it was my
Father's good pleasure to give me the kingdom.
Eternal life is the gift of His sovereign grace
alone, through the blood and righteousness of his
only begotten Son. O who would not do and en-
dure all things for this eternity of blessedness !
Thus meditate, solemnly, cai-ucstly, prayerfully.

SUBJECTS OF MEDITATION. 281

on these stupendous thoughts, until they become
the cherished companions of your daily walks, and
of your nightly musings ; until they breathe their
own power over your spirit, grow into your very
lieart, and are ever with you, at home and abroad,
in public and in solitude, in labor and in rest, as
your shield against temptation, your incentive to
holiness, your comfort in affliction, your triumph
in death.

2ff

CHAPTER XVI.

OCCASIONAL MEDITATIONS.

In connection with the great and solemn truths,
presented in the last chapter, as general subjects
of meditation, I will now briefly refer to some of
those incidental occasions of pious thought, from
which, if you possess a right frame of mind, you
may derive much spiritual profit. It is alike the
duty and the interest of a Christian, to improve all
the events and circumstances of his earthly course,
for the increase of his bdavenly treasure. Every
condition through whicn jk» passes — every scene ia
which he mingles — his occupations, his associates,
his successes, and his disappointments — all have a
moulding. influence upon him, and are shaping his
character for good or for evil. Each vicissitude of
his temporal being conveys to him some lesson,
and impresses on him some mark. And it should
be his constant endeavor so to regard and to use
these common things, as to give them a sanctifying
tendency, and draw from them assistance in his
religious progress. Let such be your own prac-
tioo Take God with you into all your afiairs.

(282)

OCCASIONAL MEDITATIONS. 283

View every step of your daily life with reference
to Him, and the welfare of the soul. Thus will
even ordinary employments and incidents be sug-
gestive to you of spiritual reflections, and minister
to your immortal good.

AVhen you wake in the morning, let such
thoughts as these impress your mind. How mer-
ciful is the Lord, who has guarded me in my un-
conscious hours ! He has raised this frail body
from natural slumber; and He can raise it as
easily, and will raise it, from the slumber of the
sepulchre at the last day. Sleep is the image of
death. If I die in Jesus, death will be to me but
a sleep — the grave my secure and peaceful bed —
the resurrection my bright and joyful awakening.
0 that ever now, when I awake, I may be still with
God ! Then, at my final awakening, I shall be-
hold His face in righteousness, rejoice in His
presence, and bear His image. " I shall be satis-
fied when I awake with Thy likeness."

"When you have been favored with calm and re-
freshing rest, think; Blessed be the keeper of
Israel, that neither slumbers nor sleeps. The
Lord only makes me dwell in safety. "For so He
giveth His beloved sleep.'' But if natural rest be
so reviving, 0 what is it to be received into the
arms of Christ, and to repose on His bosom !
What are the enjoyments of those souls that

284 " HEART-TREASURE.

walk all the day in the light of His countenance,
and sleep all the night of affliction upon the lap of
His love ! Jesus ! I come to Thee. My physical
energies, wasted by toil, have been repaired and
invigorated under Thy protecting eye. But my
spirit is worn with the tossings of the world,
pressed down by the burden of its corruptions, and
wearied in the life-long struggle with sin and
temptation. 0 give rest to my soul ! Pillow it
on Thy heart ', and thence let it draw fresh strength
for the toils and conflicts which may yet lie
before it.

When you are putting on your apparel, think :
These garments, with which a kind Providence has
supplied me, cover my limbs, and shield them
from the scorching heat of summer, and the chill-
ing blasts of winter. And shall my soul be naked ?
Shall it dare to meet the searching glance of God,
and the keen inquisition of His holy law, arrayed
only in its own deformity and pollution ? And
shall it stand at last, thus unsheltered and exposed,
before the awful tribunal of Divine Justice, and
amidst the revelations of the great day ? 0 Sa-
viour! clothe me with Thy spotless righteousness;
invest me, through faith in Thee, with the perfect
merits of Thy obedience and death ; create in me
a clean heart, and endue me with the purity of a
renewed and sanctified spirit. Then shall I appear

OCCASIONAL MEDITATIONS. 285

with acceptance in the presence of the omniscient
and all holj One, and be prepared to enter into
the kingdom of His glory.

When you look out on the morning sky, bright
with its early splendors, thus think : " Truly the
light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the
eyes to behold the sun.'' Blessed be God who
hath set this luminary in the heavens, and caused
the day-spring to know its place, and the sun to
come forth as a bridegroom from his chamber, re-
joicing as a strong man to run a race. What a
dark dungeon, and confused chaos, would this
world be without it ! But 0 how much brighter
and sweeter is the light of the glorious Gospel !
This shows us the path of present duty, and guides
us to the mansions of eternal joy; and were its
beams withdrawn, we should grope in the darkness
of ignorance here, and plunge into the utter dark-
ness of despair hereafter. 0 Sun of Righteousness !
shine into my heart; dispel the earthly mists
which hang over it; warm its affections; ripen
within it the fruits of holiness ; and lead me, by
Thy holy radiance, through all the gloom of time,
to the realms of everlasting day.

When you pray in your chamber, think : Now
my Father in heaven sees me in secret. Neither
darkness nor privacy can hide from Him. He
scans every thought of my mind, and every imagi-

280 HEART-TREASURE.

nation of my heart. 0 for an upright frame of
spirit ! 0 that my heart may be seasoned for God
all this day ! He that searcheth the heart, and
trieth the reins, will have His eye on me wherever
I go, and whatever I do. 0 for grace to set Him
before my sight, in all places, in all companies,
and in all occupations.

When you meet the different members of your
family, think : How sadly and suddenly a breach
might have been made in this domestic circle !
We are all alive — that is a rich mercy. We are
all in health — that is more. We are all together —
BO God will gather His saints together. How
many of this family shall be of that number !
Lord, grant that none here may be among the re-
jected and the lost, in the day when Thou makest
up Thy jewels. 0 may we all meet around Thy
throne at last — a family in heaven.

When you are about to read the Scriptures and
pray in your family, think : 0 what a mercy it is
that I may read this blessed book ! Lord, ^' open
Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous
things out of Thy law." What an infinite, glori-
ous, and gracious God is this, to whom I am to
pray ! How loving and faithful is that all-pre-
vailing Advocate, who intercedes for me above !
What a privilege is it to draw near, through His
merits, to a Father's feet, and lay before Him all

OCCASIONAL iMEDITATIONS. 287

my own wants, the temporal and spiritual welfare
of those immediately connected with me, and the
sins and miseries of the world in which I dwell !
0 for a suitable frame of heart ! Lord, let my
prayer be acceptable in thy sight, and make it an
instrument of blessing to the dear ones who bow
with me around Thy mercy-seat !

When you go forth to your customary avoca-
tions, think : The world is full of snares and
temptations, and my heart as full of sin and
treachery. Little, ah ! little do I know what cor-
ruptions may break out from me, or what afflic-
tions may break in upon me, before my return.
The least occasion of sin may seduce me — the least
accident may overthrow me. 0 may the Lord bless
and preserve my going out and my coming in, from
this time forth and for evermore.

When you are on a journey, think : My life is
a journey. I am in constant motion towards
eternity. Each moment brings me another step,
each day another stage, nearer to the goal. Hea-
ven is the home at which I hope to arrive. I can-
not reach it without diligent exertion, heedful care,
and the aid of Almighty grace. Lord, let me not
miss my way, or miscarry in the end. Lead me
by Thy hand, support me by Thy Spirit, keep me
from fainting, refresh me with constant tokens of

288 HEART-TREASURE.

Thy love, and bring me to the end of my faith,
even the salvation of my soul.

When you see around you the products of na-
ture or of art, think : What a vast world is this !
And yet what is this to the heavens ! And what
are both to the infinite God ! What multitudes of
people are there in this city ; how great its wealth,
how splendid and costly its buildings ! But what
are these throngs to the " multitude which no man
can number," that shall inhabit the city of my
God ? What are these riches to " the walls of sap-
phire, and the streets paved with gold ?" What
are these marble structures to the palaces of the
New Jerusalem ? How lovely is this landscape,
with its green woods and fields, and winding
streams, and quiet cottages ! And yet how rugged
and cheerless is it, compared with the Paradise
above, where grows the tree of Life fast by the
river of God ; where the sun never sets, and comes
no chilling winter ; and where amaranthine flowers
cover all the celestial plains with their unfading
beauty ! How cold and hard looks yonder rock —
how bleak and sterile yonder mountain ! 0 my
soul, are not these types of thine own state ? Look
about thee : gather instruction from all thou seest
— lessons to encourage, to quicken, or to warn
thee.

OC?CASIONAL MEDITATIONS. 289

When you arc conversing with others, think :
For every idle word I must give an acoount, and
^' in the multitude of words there wanteth not
sin." 0 my soul, think before thou speak. Will
what thou art saying be to the glory of Gotl, and
the edification of men ? Speak as thou wouldst
speak if Jesus Christ were standing by thee in a
visible form. Speak as thou wouldst desire to
speak at death, and as thou hopest to speak in
heaven.

When you ai'e alone, think ; I am in the pre-
sence of the omniscient God. These are precious
hours that go over my head. Why should I squan-
der my time and my thoughts on trifles ? 0 my
soul, thou hast a noble faculty of reflection ! Call
home thy truant imaginations. Busy thyself with
thy own condition, wants, dangei'S, and hopes-
Converse with God and with thyself, and thou wilt
never be less alone than when alone.

When you partake of your daily food, think :
How beneficial to us are the creatures when living,
and how serviceable when dead! They accomplish
the end of their creation and appointment. 0 my
soul, sit thou as queen -regent over thy sensual
appetite ! Take heed of excess. Put a knife tc
the throat of intemperate desires. Be not brutish
in a sinful abuse of these creature comforts, bur
gaint-like in a saactified use of them ; and look to
25

290 HEART-TREASIJTfli:.

God for Ilis Messing^ else these dead thing? laa-
not preserve Mfe.

When yon rise lap well refreshed^ think : If the
creatures he so nourishing and supporting, "what
must he the Creator? O the sweetness of the
blessed feast of fat things in the Gospel I 0 the
delicaey of the wine in mj Father''s kingdom !
And shall I abase the gifts of God, fo-rget the
Giver, and rise up to play ? Many, better than I,
want these refrcshments. O for a thankful heart !
What a bountiful Master do I serve ! What a
great Housekeeper is the Lord, who provides for
so numerous a family in heaven and earth !

When you go to the place of public worship,
think : O how glad am I when people say, Gome,
let us go up to the house of the Lord ! What a
mercy is the Sabbath; the sweet day of rest from
worldly toil and eare, and of hallowed intercourse
with God 1 How rich are the benefits connected
with Chiristian institutions ! It is a lovely specta-
cle to see people of every class and condition, the
iiigh and the low, the rich and the poor, childhood
in its joy, youth in its bloom, manhood in its
strength, and old ago with its silvery head — all
flocking to the sacred spot, where the message of
salvation is proclaii]a<3d, ai><J the voise of prayer
and praise goes up to the throiie above. Lord^
gra.nt tb^t many y^Jils may he led this day, by the

OCCASIONAL MEDITATIONS. 291

convincing power of Thy Spirit, to obey the truth
and live. And 0 give nie a heart prepared to
receive the communications of Thy grace, and to
profit by them; for this may be the last oppor-
tunity allotted me on earth.

When you listen to the dispensation of the
word, think : The preacher comes as an ambassa-
dor from God to me. It is God that speaks — the
great Jehovah, who commands attendance and
audience, and who can command my soul into
never ending torments. The words, which now
fall on my ears, are words of everlasting life, and
are intimately conne-cted with my highest good,
here and hereafter. 0 let me not slight them,
Wt with all the faculties of my soul give heed to
their teachings. My eternal state may depend on
the manner in which I receive this one message.
Life and death are now before me.

When you are to partake of the Lord's Supper,
think : I am this day to sup with Christ, and have
I on a wedding garment ? Have I an interest in
that atoning Eedcemer, who is at once the Maker
and the Substance of this blessed feast ? 0 my
soul, dost thou rightly discern the Lord's body ?
E,ouse up thy faith and love, thy hope and desire.
Draw near to these emblems of the crucified One^
and receive them with lowly contrition, with grate-
ful trust, and with entire dedication to Him. His

292 HEART-TREASURE.

flesh is meat indeed, and His blood is drink in-
deed. 0 Saviour ! be Thou present at Thine own
table, and fill my famishing spirit with the joy of
Thy salvation.

When you retire from public worship, think :
Another season of religious service and instruction
has now closed; but my work is not yet done.
I must now meditate on the truths which I have
heard, and inquire what influence they have had
upon me; what light they have imparted to my
understanding ; what conviction to my will, what
impulse to my afi"ections. 0 let me look well to
it, that the word, through my misimprovement of
it, do not become to me ^^ a savor of death unto
death V The privileges of this day have brought
me one step nearer to heaven or to hell. Each
time I tread the Lord's courts — each sermon I
hear — will tend to increase my joy, or to aggra-
vate my condemnation, in a future world. I must
get more good, become more good, and do more
good, as the eiFect of every gracious opportunity,
or all these abundant means of spiritual culture
will render me inexcusable, and plunge me into
tenfold misery.

When you meet with attached relatives and
acquaintance, think : If it be so sweet to meet
with friends, dear and long tried, how much
sweeter must it be to meet with God, my best

OCCASIONAL MEDITATIONS. 293

beloved, and most loving Friend ! God is a Friend
nearer and dearer than any earthly object of affec-
tion can be. May He give me grace so to improve
the society of the friends with whom His kindness
has surrounded me, that I shall both receive good
from them, and impart good to them. And when
you separate from those you love, reflect, that now
you separate in the hope of meeting again; but
that soon you must part to meet no more on
earth; and let it be your fervent prayer, that you
may all meet in heaven at the resurrection of the
just.

When you are busy in your particular calling,
think : Who sets me a work ? Is it not God ?
For whom do I work ? Is it not for Him ? Do I
seek merely my own temporal advantage ? Then
I am carnal. 0 let me be moderate in the pursuit
of this world, nor suffer its cares to overwhelm me.
While I am " diligent in business,'^ let me be also
^' fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." Let it be
my constant and most earnest endeavor to abide
with God in my calling, and so to regulate and
control all my worldly engagements, that nothing
shall interpose between me and the enjoyment of
His presence, or hinder the worship and obedience
which I owe Him. In reference, also, to the na-
ture of your calling, reflect thus : Am I a magis-
trate? I judge, not for man, but for God, who

294 HEART-TREASURE.

"will judge the unrigliteous judge, and to whom I
must answer for the manner in which I discharge
the civil trust, which His providence has commit-
ted to me. Am I a minister? Upon me rests
the charge of souls, for whose spiritual welfare I
must study, and labor, and pray. 0 what account
shall I give ? Am I a merchant, tradesman, me-
chanic, husbandman ? Whatever be the character
of my occupation in life, I am bound to derive
from it moral instruction, and to conduct it in ac-
cordance with the will of God, and the interests
of my soul,

"When you consider your relative connections,
think : Am I a husband ? I must dwell with my
wife " according to knowledge" — in harmony with
the holy principles which the Gospel inculcates —
with Christian affection, sympathy, and forbear-
ance— that our mutual prayers may not be hin-
dered. Am I a wife ? I must be a help to my
husband in all things; ministering to his happi-
ness; sharing his sorrows; encouraging him in
the service of God, if he be a believer; and seek-
ing to win him to Christ by my " chaste conversa-
tion,'' if he be yet in impenitence and sin. Am I
a father? I must not provoke, but profit my
child, and labor to train it up for God, by pious
counsel, example, and guidance. Am I a mother?
0 let me remember that to me God has assigned

OCCASIONAL MEDITATIONS, ^295

the oiScc of directing the first niovemettts of the
infant minds which He has entrusted to my care ;
and that the influcncCj which I exert upon them,
will most probably determine their character in
this world, and their destiny in the next Am I
a child ? I must yield all reverence and obedience
to my parents, as unto God, in whose stead they
are. Am I a master? My Master in heaven,
who is no respecter of i>erson, sees and marks my
conduct towards those who are under ray autho-
rity. Am I a servant? It behoves me to dis-
charge the duties of my station witii diligence,
fidelity, and suitable submission, even as Christ,
whom I serve, hath left me an example, that I
should follow in His steps.

When yoa hear any good news, let it remind
you of the glad tidings of the gospel j the glorious
announcement from heaven of glory to God in the
highest, on earth peace, and good wiil towards
men : a message the best and sweetest that angel
ever brought, or man received. And when intel-
ligence of a painful character reaches you, yield
not to its depressing influence, but let your lan-
guage be : If God is my defence and salvation, I
am fortified against every disaster, ^' The right-
eous shall not be afraid of evil tidings j his heart
is fixed, trusting in the Lord,'' Let the kingdom
of t^hrist be advanced— let error and sin be de-

296 HEART-TREASURE.

stroyed — and I am satisfied; whateyer else may
occur.

When you witness or read of any remarkable
judgments from God's hand, think : *' Who know-
eth the power of Thine anger ?" O dreadful ma-
jesty of the Lord of Hosts, who made the sea and
the dry land, who commands all the elements, and
works His wonders in the fire, the water, the earth,
and the air. " They that dwell in the uttermost
parts of the earth are afraid at Thy tokens.'' Lord,
what mean these things ? What wilt Thou do unto
us? Our sins cr}^ for vengeance. 0 restrain Thy
hand in mercy, or hide Thy saints till Thy wrath
he past.

When you behold the sinful acts of men, or he/ir
of the commission of some startling crime, think :
O what are the best of us by nature ! Who makes
me to differ ? Free grace alone has withheld my
steps, or I should now be reeling with the drunk-
ard, blaspheming with the profane, reveling with
the wanton. Lord, let me not confide in a mere
abstinence from outward immoralities, but strive
after inward holiness and conformity of heart to
Thy requirements. My nature is corrupt and fal-
lible. Leave me not to the hidden workings of
my depravity. ^' Who can understand his errors ?
Cleanse Thou me from secret faults. Keep back
Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let

OCCASIONAL MEDITATIONS. 297

them not have dominion over me ; then shall I be
upright, and I shall be innocent from the great
transgression."

When your corruptions break out in open sin,
think : 0 the vileness of my deceitful heart ! " O
"wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me
from the body of this death ?" Little did I think
to have been thus beguiled and surprised. God
is righteous, and I am weak, polluted, and vile. I
have grown secure, and have forgotten His up-
holding hand, and He has left me to myself. 0
how justly might He have taken me in the act of
sin, and cast me headlong into hell ! Let me not,
for an instant, delay to humble myself in His
sight, and make my peace with Him.

When sad crosses and trials befall you in body,
in estate, in reputation, or in connections, think :
What is the sin for which God is now chastening
me ? Lord, open mine ears to hear the voice of
Thy rod, and bow my heart in obedience to Thy
will. 0 let instruction come with Thy corrections !
Help me to search my heart, and to try my ways.
This stroke is either a token of Thy love, or the
beginning of Thy wrath. 0 that I may see in it
a Father's heart, feel in it a Father's hand, and
attain by it a Father's end !

When you are delivered from apparent danger
of death by sickness or accident, consider : O my

298 HEART-TREASURE.

soul, what if thou hadst now been snatched away,
and thy body left a mass of loathsome corruption ?
Where wouldst thou have been? Wert thou
ready for glory ? What assurance hadst thou of
a better state ? Didst thou not then wish to have
been in a more prepared condition ? If so, let it
serve as a warning to thee. Give God the glory
of thy deliverance ; devote thyself more entirely
to Him; do at once whatever needs to be done to
fit thee for meeting Him in peace ; and live in con-
stant readiness for the hour that shall summon thee
to His presence.

When the shades of evening fall around you,
and the sky is full of stars, think : Another day
of my life is gone, and I am so much nearer to
eternity. What improvement have I made of
these precious hours ? Have I used them to the
glory of God? Am I more ripe for heaven now
than when the morning dawned ? 0 Lord, lift up
the light of Thy countenance upon me. I walk
through a dark night of error, perplexity, and
trial. Show me the path of life. Let the blessed
day-star arise in my heart. When, 0 when shall
my soul be translated above yonder twinkling
stars, to shine in the celestial firmament for ever
and ever ! And when you lay aside your garments
and seek your wonted repose, meditate thus : Even
BO must thou, my soul, put off the body at death,

OCCASIONAL MEDITATIONS. 299

and be unclothed that thou mayst ^Mdc clothed
upon with thy house which is from heaven/' and
*' that mortality may be swallowed up of life." 0,
then, daily undress thee of corruption and sin;
give up thyself into the hands of Christ ; and lay
thyself asleep beneath His loving eye, as thou
wouldst wish to be found at death, or on the morn-
ing of the resurrection.

Those, and similar seasons and occurrences, are
well suited to call forth devout reflections, and to
promote a spiritual frame of mind. Let me urge
upon you the importance of so improving them.
Give to every action and event of your life a reli-
gious character and aspect. Contemplate what-
ever pertains to you, and whatever surrounds you,
in the light of the Gospel, and in its bearing on
eternity. Thus matters, in themselves merely
secular, cast into the alembic of faith and prayer,
will produce the pure gold of soul-enriching wis-
dom and piety.

CHAPTER XVII.

now MEDITATION PRESERVES AND INCREASES
HEART-TREASURE.

Every intelligent observer, who has given any
thoughtful heed to his own religious history, or to
that of others, must be aware that the great ma-
jority of professing Christians, at the present day,
attach far less importance to meditation, both as a
means of grace and as a required duty, than is de-
manded by the position assigned to it in the Bible,
and by the effects which it is calculated to produce.
Multitudes, who are regular in their attendance on
the public ministrations of the Gospel, who observe
the stated seasons of social prayer, and who do not
altogether neglect secret devotion and the private
study of Scripture, are yet well nigh strangers to
the habit of solemn and deliberate reflection on
the import of what they read or hear, and on its
application to their own spiritual state. It is, there-
fore, desirable to set forth, more distinctly than
might otherwise be necessary, the claims of medi-
tation as a divine precept, and the purifying and

(300)

MEDITATION INCREASES IT. 301

elevating influence -wliicli it exerts on those wbo
rightly practice it.

1. Meditation is clearly enjoined by divine
authority. When the people of Israel were about
to pass into Canaan, their almighty Leader and
Protector, knowing the proneness of their hearts
to forget His statutes, and the necessity of careful
consideration to preserve them from apostacy, gave
them the following charge by the lips of Ilis ser-
vant Joshua ; '' This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth ; but thou shalt meditate
therein day and night, that thou mayest observe
to do according to all that is written therein;
for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and
then thou shalt have good success." In the Pro-
verbs of Solomon it is said, '^ My son, forget not
my law; but let thine heart keep my command-
ments." ^^ Incline thine ear unto wisdom, and
apply thine heart to understanding." Should it
be aflSrmed that these requirements belonged to a
former dispensation, and are no longer binding
under the freer economy of the Gospel, a sufficient
answer may be found in the fact, that the New
Testament itself contains many similar injunctions.
Thus the apostle Paul exhorts the Colossians,
'^ Set your affection on things above." ^' Let the
word of God dwell in you richly in all wisdom."
And to the same effect is his instruction to Time-
26

i

302 HEART-TREASURE.

thy. " Meditate upon these things ; give thyself
wholly to them ; that thy profiting may appear to
all." And what is thus expressly inculcated in
numerous passages, is no less plainly implied in
all the practical announcements of Scripture. The
exercise of devout meditation has, therefore, a firm
basis in the revealed will of God. The same su-
preme and holy One, who commands us to repent,
to believe, to pray, to hear and read His word,
commands us also to consider, to think, to ponder
His ways and our own, and so to reflect upon all
the manifestations of His providence and of His
grace, as to derive from them the teachings which
He mercifully designs to impart. Accordingly, we
find that all the holy men, whose lives are recorded
in sacred history, were distinguished for the prac-
tice of this duty. Enoch and Noah "walked with
God.'' Abraham and Job lived much in holy con-
templation on divine things. " Isaac went out to
meditate in the field at the eventide." Moses was
accustomed often to withdraw from the noise and
bustle of the congregation, for the purpose of re-
tired thought and solitary converse with God.
David, though a king, and encompassed by the
anxieties and labors of public affairs, found time to
engage frequently in the delightful employment
of meditating on the word and works of Jehovah.
And not seldom did our Lord leave the society

MEDITATION INCREASES IT. 303

even of His beloved disciples, ind retire to some
sequestered spot, that He might spend hours in
silent communion with Himself and with His Fa-
ther in heaven. Shall we, then, neglect a duty so
clearly taught in the word of God, and so abuu
dantly enforced by the practice of the pious in all
past ages, and by the example of Christ Himself i^
How strange it is, that many who recognize the
obligation of other duties, seem almost entirely to
overlook the binding nature of this, and live in
habitual disregard of it, with scarcely a conscious-
ness of guilt !

2. But not only is the habit of religious medi-
tation a matter of scriptural precept and example ;
it is also a source of the highest improvement to
those who form and maintain it. It is the chief
agent in fastening divine truths on the mind.
The knowledge of these truths we receive by hear-
ing, reading, and the social interchange of pious
thought; but it is meditation alone that gives
them a permanent dwelling place in our memories,
and makes them our own. It is the digestive pro-
cess, by which spiritual food nourishes the soul,
and promotes its growth in holiness. The want ot
this is the grand reason why such numbers of pro-
fessing Christians, notwithstanding the most ample
teaching, still remain ignorant, unstable, and un-
fruitful ; ^^ ever learning, but never able to come

304 HEART-TREASURE.

to the knowledge of the truth.'' Instruction flows
in upon them from all sides ; but their heads and
hearts are like sieves, out of which every thing runs
as fast as it is poured in. The impressions which
truth makes on their minds, are as evanescent as
characters traced on the sands of the sea-shore,
which the next wave effaces forever. But medita-
tion imprints truth deeply on the conscience, and
engraves it on the tablets of ''the inner man,"
" as with a pen of iron, and the point of a dia-
mond." It thus becomes incorporated into the
soul ', forms, as it were, a part of it ; and is ever
present with it, to regulate its affections, and to
control and guide all its movements.

3. Meditation tends to strengthen and increase
all the Christian graces. Gifts arc promoted by
verbal, but grace by mental exercises. As food
and air greatly influence the state of the body, so
the soul is gradually assimilated to the nature of
the subjects with which it is frequently brought in
contact. The more it feeds on spiritual aliment,
and inhales a spiritual atmosphere, the more
spiritual it becomes, and the more are the holy
principles, which the Divine Spirit has implanted
within it, developed and expanded. The more we
reflect on the evil of sin, and on the infinite sacri-
fice which was required for its expiation, the deeper
will be our sorrow for it, and the more cordial our

MEDITATION INCREASES IT. 305

renunciation of it. The more we think of Christ,
of the depth of His compassion, of the fullness of
His offices, of the all-sufficiency of His righteous-
ness, the stronger will be our faith in Him, the
warmer our love to Him, the more entire our con-
secration to His cause. By dwelling often and
earnestly on the character and dispensations of
God, we shall be led to cherish a more influential
fear of Him, and a more fervent desire to please
Him in all holy obedience. In like manner, fre-
quent thoughts of heaven will invigorate our hope
of its enjoyment, enable us to look forward to it
with more eager longings of soul, and prepare us
to regard all our present trials as so many steps in
our progress to eternal felicity. Thus holy think-
ing excites holy feeling. While we muse, the fire
of heavenly affection kindles and burns, and fills
the whole heart with its seraphic glow.

4. This exercise of the mind is one of the best
safeguards against the assaults of outward tempta-
tion, and the force of inward corruption. Pious
thoughts are as cold water to quench the fiery
darts of Satan. The}^ serve as a precious antidote
against the seductive allurements of the world;
for they furnish the soul with better employment
than the pursuit of dreams and shadows. The
most effectual way to silence the thousand voices
that are constantly calling us into the treacherous
26*

806 HEART-TREASURE.

paths of carthliness, is to mind heavenly things.
The soul that converses habitually with eternal
realities, is elevated above the low entanglements
and the paltry attractions of sense. As the eagle,
while soaring aloft in the noon-day sky, cannot be
caught by a net spread upon the ground ; so the
heart, when lifted up by meditation amidst the
glories of the celestial world, is most secure from
the snares which lurk in this terrestrial sphere.
Equally powerful is such a frame of mind to resist
the workings of internal depravity. The more we
contemplate the Divine law, the holiness of God,
and the discoveries which He has made in His
word of the natural character of man, — the more
distinctly do we perceive the heinousncss of trans-
gression, and the more earnestly do we strive to
avoid it. Under such a training, we become better
acquainted with the latent pollution and deceitful-
ncss of our own hearts, and more watchful and pre-
pared against their insidious risings. To an eye,
purified by the enlightening Spirit, and strength-
ened by long gazing on the Sun of Righteousness,
sin can assume no disguise, and make its approaches
by no stratagem, which it will not readily detect.
Thus meditation on the statutes of God qualifies us
to discover, and, by His help, to foil every enemy
within us that would oppose His rightful authority.
5. A habit of devout thinking is of great assist-

MEDITATION INCREASES IT. 307

ancc to the believer in his seasons of spiritual de-
pression. When David was oppressed with doubts,
and deprived of the sensible manifestation of God's
presence, he was able to argue down his desponding
feelings, by reflecting on the loving kindness and
faithfulness of the Lord. "Why art thou cast
down, 0 my soul ? and why art thou disquieted in
me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet'praise
Him for the help of His countenance.'^ " The
Lord will command Plis loving kindness in the
day time, and in the night His song shall be with
me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.'' So
will it be with every Christian whose soul is en-
riched by heavenly meditation. His stock of en-
livening thoughts will counteract disheartening
ones. Encouragements, drawn from the promises
of God, and nourished by a familiar acquaintance
with the methods of His grace, will repel the
darkest suggestions of unbelief, and allay the se-
verest mental disquietude. " Unless Thy law had
been my delights," said the Psalmist, in the re-
view of his past conflicts, " I should then have
perished in mine affliction. I will never forget
Thy precepts; for with them Thou hast quickened
me." Thus the soul, wrapped in holy thoughts,
can pass through the sharpest and gloomiest strug-
gles, safe from all fatal wounds.

Meditation is an essential preparative for re*

SOh HEART-TREASURE.

ligious duties, and a most efficient aid in their per-
formance. Whether the work before us be prayer,
praise, the reading of Scripture, or listening to
the proclamation of the Gospel, there is nothing
which so fits us to enter upon it, and so helps us
in it, as a devoutly meditative spirit. David, in-
deed, joins prayer and meditation together. " Give
ear to my words, 0 Lord, consider my meditation.''
Meditation composes the mind, warms and elevates
the heart, abstracts it from worldly things, and
attunes it to the hallowed exercises of devotion.
Meditation is, in fact, a large part of a Christian's
devotion, and such a part of it, that when he is
precluded from public ordinances, or from the
social gatherings of his brethren, his soul may still
sally out to its God on the wings of holy thoughts,
and hold communion with Him in the presence of
the most bitter adversaries, in the solitude of a
desert, or on the lonely sea, far away from the
sanctuaries of the land. No barriers and no dis-
tance can hinder his access to God in sacred con-
templation. In this manner, also, he is enabled
to carry on his intercourse with God in times and
in situations, which render more formal acts of
worship impracticable. When walking or riding
by the way — when engaged in secular occupations —
aye, when shut up in prison, debarred from all
converse with Christian friends, and deprived of

MEDITATION INCREASES IT. 309

all means of communication with the outer world, —
his mind may still be busy in heavenly musings.
These may be his companions wherever he is.
Though he can do nothing else, he can think of
God, of Christ, and of heaven; and thus employ
even the smallest fragments of time, and the most
unpropitious circumstances, in adding to his spirit-
ual treasure.

7. Holy tliouglits adapt and incite the mind to
holy effort, and make it ready for every good word
and work. He who has his thoughts best employed
when alone, will best use his tongue when in com-
pany. If you meet such a one in the scenes of
business, on a journey, in the walks of social life,
on any occasion whatever, the fountain of pious
thought in his heart will send forth a stream of
pious discourse from his lips, to edify and refresh
believers, and to convince and persuade the im-
penitent. And in every other form of exertion
for the spiritual good of men, he who meditates
most, will be most active, energetic, and self-sacri-
ficing. Why is it that the great mass of those,
who avow themselves the disciples of Christ, devote
so little of their time and property to the advance-
ment of His kingdom, and the conversion of the
world? One principal cause of this deplorable
fact doubtless is, that they think so little on these
subjects. Though the claims of the Saviour, and

SlO HEART-TREASURE.

the wants of the perishing multitudes around them,
are often pressed on their attention, yet, absorbed
in the pursuit of their own temporal interests, they
do not give them sufficient heed, to awaken a
spirit of benevolence, and call forth strenuous en-
deavor. But very different is it with the man who
is accustomed to religious meditation. To him the
spread of true religion on earth is a cherished and
engrossing theme. lie reflects much and deeply
on his obligations to the Saviour. He ponders the
command, given by Christ to His apostles, and
through them to the whole body of His people in
every age, ^^ Go ye into all the world, and preach
the Gospel to every creature." He looks out over
the wide circumference of the globe, and observes
how vast a portion of its surface is yet unvisited
by the light of the Gospel, and covered with the
baleful shadow of idolatry ; how the lands of pa-
ganism arc full of the most revolting pollution,
and overspread with misery and despair ; and how
even in nominally Christian lands immense multi-
tudes are still without any experimental knowledge
of the Redeemer, and of the renewing work of His
Spirit. He unfolds the scroll of prophecy, and
reads the promise, that Christ shall have ^^the
heathen for His inheritance, and the uttermost
parts of the earth for His possession •/' that " the
earth shall bo full of the knowledge of the Lord,

MEDITATION INCREASES IT. 311

as tlic waters cover the sea;" and that all tlie
myriads of our apostate race shall become the sub-
jects of the Prince of Peace. He compares these
predictions with the developments of Divine Provi-
dence, and carefully watches all those movements
in the social, intellectual, and moral world, which,
under the directing hand of God, are ever tending
onward to the grand and glorious consummation,
when the reign of truth and righteousness shall be
universally established. Familiar with subjects
lite these, and animated by their influence, he
throws his entire energies into the work which his
Master has assigned him ; devotes himself sacredly
to it ; and puts forth his all of soul, and mind,
and substance, to promote the triumphs of Jesus
in the salvation of sinners.

8. Heavenly meditation is the noblest exercise
of our rational faculties, and tends directly to pre-
pare us for the employments of the redeemed
above. The soul is of celestial birth ; and though
now debased by sin, and chained to earth by the
low and sordid appetites which depravity has en-
gendered in it; yet, when emancipated and puri-
fied by the grace of God, it reasserts its divine ori-
ginal, and soars upward to the Source from which
it sprung. To occupy it with carnal thoughts —
to bound iis vision by the limits of this ignoble
«2'here— is to dcgi-ade its loftj extraction, to crip-

312 HEART-TREASURE.

pie its powerS; clog its wings^ and keep it back
from its ethereal flight. No earthly object is
sufficiently large to fill its capacities, sufficiently
perfect to satisfy its desires. Eternal things alone
are durable enough to be its portion, rich enough
to supply its wants, and vast enough to afford
scope for its endless expatiations. These alone
are suited to its nature, and adequate to all the
necessities of its being. And these alone furnish
it with topics of reflection worthy to interest and
to engross it. Corapared with these, all the splen-
dor and glory of the world deserve not one glance
of the eye, or one thought of the mind. Whatever
relates not to the soul, and contributes not to its
immortal happiness, is unsuited to its love, and
beneath its regard. ** We look," says an apostle,
*' not at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen ; for the things which
are seen are temporal ; but the things which are
not seen are eternal." And while meditation on
eternal realities is thus the fittest employment of
the soul here, it is likewise eminently calculated
to qualify it for the yet higher occupations which
await it in a future state. It is the soul's walk
and communion with God — its excursions into
Paradise — the foretaste and anticipation of glory—
the life of heaven begun below. The man who
maintains a habit of holy thought, breathes a

MEDITATION INCREASES IT. 313

celcstiai atmosphere. The scenes and influences
f eternity are broiiglit down by faith into Lis
daily path. AVhcrever he is, he feels that Jehovah
is constantly at his side, as his Friend and Com-
panion, so that he can say with the Psalmi.st,
" When 1 awake I am still with Thee.'' Thus is
he fitted, by converse with heaven now, to share
its blessedness hereafter, and become " a partaker
of the inheritance of the saints in light/' The
whole frame of his mind, the whole tone of his
spirit, is allied to heaven, and in harmony with it.
His thoughts are there, his heart is there, his
treasure is there ; and he needs only to step across
the narrow stream of death, to be there him-
self, and enter fully upon its blissful avocations.
0 happy is he whom his Lord, when he cometh,
shall find thus prepared ! To such a one the pas-
sage from earth to heaven is not a sudden transi-
tion— not a violent breaking up of long cherished
feelings, and habits, and pursuits, and pleasures,
and the entrance into a world where all is new
and strange; but the easy and natural merging
of an immature state into one the same in kind
but perfect in degree ; the expansion of the bud
into the flower, of the seed into the harvest; the
immediate sight and fruition of glories, already
known and familiar to the view of faith. He
changes his place, but not his company. Earth
27

314 HEART-TREASURE.

is no longer his abode; but he carries with him,
to his everlasting home, the thoughts, and emo-
tions, and graces, which constituted his true solace
in his pilgrimage below, developed, consummated,
made perpetual, and purified from all the corrupt
mixtures which marred and weakened them here.
0 happy frame ! 0 blessed state of expectation
and meetness for the glorious society on high !
Who would not desire it ? And who, desiring it,
will not labor sedulously to obtain it ?

Thus, in these several ways, does meditation
contribute to preserve and augment the treasure
of grace in our hearts. Let me, then, exhort you
solemnly to the practice of this duty. It is essen-
tial to the permanence and growth of your piety.
Amidst the busy scenes of the world, the pressure
of its engagements, its bustle and turmoil, its dis-
tractions and its solicitations, you cannot retain
the teachings of divine truth, or cultivate spiritual
affections, without accustoming yourself to frequent
and serious reflection on the great concerns which
belong to your everlasting welfare. 0 may God
fasten this subject on your mind ! May He ele-
vate your thoughts to heavenly things, bring them
home with power to your heart, write them on
every lineament of your soul, and so keep alive
the impression of them, that it shall never depart
from you, till you enter into that bright world

MEDITATION INCREASES IT. 316

where you sliall behold them in their unveiled
?ustre and greatness ! Unite with me in the
prayer of David, and make it ever your own.
" 0 Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel,
our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination
of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, and
prepare their heart unto Thee.'^

CHAPTER XVIII.

RULES FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF THIS TREASURE.

One more general division of my subject re-
mains to be consideredj namely, In what manner a
good man is to bring forth good things out of the
good treasure of his heart. In an earlier part of
this treatise, it has been largely insisted on that a
Christian is to employ his treasure in the great
duties of meditation, religious discourse, holy ac-
tion, and patient suffering. Referring the reader
to what was then said, I shall only add some
suggestions relative to the mode of using this trea-
sure in the above mentioned duties.

1. A Christian's treasure should be drawn out
speedily. Spiritual riches are to be used as soon
as acquired. Things new are to be brought forth
as well as things old; those lately obtained, as
well as those long since hoarded. Many good
thoughts and impressions are lost for the want of
immediate use, as many souls are undone by ne-
glect and delay. ^' The slothful man roasteth not
that which he took in hunting.^' That is, he lets
it lie by and spoil on his hands. He takes pains
(316)

RULES FOR ITS EMPLOYMENT. 317

to hunt for it, but will not take pains to roast it.
0 how many such sluggards are there in spiritual
things ! How many will travel far to hear a ser-
mon, and be affected under it, and yet lose all be-
fore they get home, because they do not follow it
home. Many hunt after the means of grace, and
are very diligent in attending ordinances, but,
alas, make little improvement of them to their
present advantage. Their hearts are full of desires
before they enter the house of God, and of de-
light while they continue under the dispensation
of His word; but, in a little time, the truths
which they hear grow stale, and by degrees fade
away from their minds, from the want of being
promptly applied. The Jews were not to keep the
manna which they had gathered until the morrow ;
and if they did so, it became worthless. Thus the
hearers of the gospel are not so to lay it up as to
neglect its present use ; for, in that case, it will
fail to produce any salutary effect. Many an im-
portant idea has been lost from the want of being
rubbed up by subsequent reflection ; and many a
powerful conviction of sin and duty dies, because
it is not at once acted on. When blossoms are
knit, though their first freshness is gone, yet they
are more secure from injury by frosts and winds
than before. In like manner, good impressions,
when quickly carried out into action, become, as
27*

818 HEART-TREASURE.

it were, knit, and acquire a settled consistency
and permanence of character. O Christian ! your
work is not done when the public duties of the
sanctuary are over. You must now, like the Be-
reans, having " received the word with all readi-
ness of mind/^ search the Scriptures to ascertain
both the truth of what you have heard, and its
adaptation to your own case. When a man receives
a pair of gloves or shoes, he first tries them on to
see how they fit him, and then uses them after-
wards as he has occasion. And will you not
honor the word of God as much as you do a bodily
garment ? David could do nothing with the armor
which he had not proved ; nor can you derive any
benefit from the word preached, until you become
assured of its suitableness to your own circum-
stances. You must first prove truth, then approve
and improve it. And you must take the earliest
opportunity to do this, lest delay wear out the
effect produced, and you hear and believe in
vain. Thus our Lord, in the Parable of the Sower,
compares the Gospel, when received without care-
ful attention and reflection, to seed sown among
thorns. " He that received seed among the thorns
is he that hearcth the word j and the care of this
world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the
word, and he bccometh unfruitful." And of the
same purport is the exhortation of the apostle

RULES FOR ITS EMPLOYMENT. 319

James. " Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers
only, deceiving your own selves. For if any man
be a bearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like
unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass ;
for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and
straightway forgctteth what manner of man he
was.'^ The right employment of truth involves
its apprehension by the mind, its deposition and
retention in the memory, and its reproduction in
the life. As a man takes a shaft in his hand, puts
it into his quiver, retains it there for a season,
and, when he has occasion for its use, draws it out
again ; so must you do with the arrows which you
obtain from the celestial armory. The design of
your laying up is that you may lay out. Be care-
ful, however, that you do not suffer your leaky
hearts to let slip what you hear ', but grasp it firmly,
treasure it securely, and then expend it readily
and wisely for your own good, and that of others.
The best preservative of truth is the prompt im-
provement of it. Speedy exercise helps to spirit-
ual dexterity. Mere theory will never make an
artist; a few hours of practice will teach him
more than many days of inactive speculation. Give
yourself at once, then, to the practical application
and carrying out of whatever religious instruction
has been imparted to you. Let your deeds mani-
fest v.'hat the w^drds of the Psalmist declare. ''This

320 HEART-TREASURE.

I had because I kept thy precepts/' So, in all fu-
ture duties and conflicts, let your conduct and your
success say : This I had from God in such an in-
terview ; this help I obtained from Him in such
an ordinance; this strength I received from such
a spiritual repast, the sweet savor and virtue of
which linger with me still. 0 of what inestimable
service will this be to you ! It will encourage and
stimulate you in similar performances, and accus-
tom you to this delightful commerce of drawing
all from God, and expending all for God. Make
speedy use, therefore, of whatever he gives you,
and let your profiting appear unto all.

2. Draw out your treasure seasonably. Every
thing is most beautiful and useful in its season.
Though you are to lay out your spiritual gains
with promptness, yet you are not to do so in-
opportunely. You must not be so hasty as to be
premature. Let your summer fruits be also ripe
grapes. A Christian must learn to adapt all his
expressions to their fitting time. Circumstances
greatly vary cases. That may be a duty at one
time which is not so at another. Negative duties — •
that is, such as consists in abstaining from the
violation of God's commandments — are binding at
all times, and in all circumstances. AfiSrmative
duties — those which consist in doing good to others
— are also of perpetual obligation, yet their specific

RULES FOR ITS EMPLOYMENT. 321

fulfillment is much modified by circumstanc^a.
Admonition, for instance, is an afiirmative duty;
yet it is not a duty to reprove a man when he is
intoxicated, or insane with passion. Here Chris-
tian prudience interposes, and directs us when re-
proof will be beneficial, and when it will be thrown
away. Though David was full of a treasure of
good thoughts, yet he knew there was a time to
keep silence as well as a time to speak; and,
therefore, on certain occasions, he kept his mouth
as with a bridle while the wicked were before him.
Our Lord Jesus, also, knew how to speak in sea-
son ; and though He was full of heavenly riches,
yet sometimes He answered not a word, and waived
doing a good work, until He saw an opportunity
for it, in which God might be more glorified, souls
more advantaged, and the purposes of His grace
more successfully promoted- Thus must you study
when to speak and act with the greatest prospect of
being useful. Certain companies may not be fit, at
certain times, for holy discourses ; and you musfc
^^ not cast your pearls before swine, lest they tram-
ple them under their feet, and turn again and rend
you.'* " A wise man's heart discerneth both time
and judgment ;" and a godly man "bringeth forth
his fruit in its season." " A word fitly spoken is
like apples of gold in pictures of silver," or ^' bas-
kets of silver/' according to a more eorre&t vender'

322 HEART-TKEASURE.

ing. " A word spoken with prapriety, opportunely,
and suitaljly to the occasion, is as much in its
place, and as conspicuously beautiful, as the golden
fruit which appears through the apertures of an
exquisitely wrought silver basket/' Sqme affirm
that the Hebrew expression, which is translated,
" a word fitly spoken,'' strictly imports, ^^ a word
on the wheels" — thus indicating that proper times
and circumstances are wheels to carry words to
their desired result with greater efficacy and ad-
vantage. There is a particular point of time, in
which if a word or a work fall, it becomes weighty
and successful ; and it is for the want of this holy
tact, that so many good men are so inefficient and
powerless. Let thy words, therefore, as Ambrose
says, ''be under the yoke and balance;" that is,
let them be regulated by humility, and weighed by
discretion. So shall thy tongue b-e subject to thy
mind.

In self-communion also, as well as in discourses
with others, you are to bring forward truths, pre-
cepts, warnings, and promises,, and press them sea-
sonably on your own minds. These will be of
incalculable value to you, to check you in sin, to
cheer you in duty, to control and direct your pro-
gress. They may come in a.t a critical moment, to
prevent some rash attempt, to rouse up you?
drowsy ox drooping feelings, and to c^alm youj

RULES FOR ITS EMPLOYMENT. 823

murmuring or troubled heart. If jou but wake up
your own spirit in the hour of difficulty, and call
to mind your past experiences and comforts, as
David did in a similar case, the Spirit of God will
also bring fitting truths to your remembrance, at
the very juncture when you need them most. And
certainly, in those dubious workings and ambigu-
ous debates, which often take place between the
carnal and the spiritual natures within us, season-
able thoughts will assist greatly in turning the
scale for God. When the balance is at a poise, a
small grain will make the one side or the other
preponderate. Every Christian knows well what
this means. 0 what good has a seasonable thought
done many a sinking soul ! On the contrary,
thoughts, which are in themselves good and true,
may distract and prejudice the soul, by being ill-
timed and inappropriate to its condition. When,
fur instance, a sincere and humble Christian is
overwhelmed with spiritual despondency, and by a
sense of his utter demerit — thoughts respecting the
awful holiness of God, and the perfect purity of
the Divine law, though just in themselves, and
salutary in their season, are not the thoughts for
him, because they are not suited to his state of
mind. Instead of dwelling on these disquieting
themes, he needs to bring strongly to his view the
promises and consolations of the Gospel, the com-

824 HEART-TREASURE.

pleteucss of every believer in Christ, and the cer-
tainty of the justification and acceptance of all to
whom His righteousness is imputed by fiiith.
And, on the other hand, when a Christian has re-
lapsed into religious indifference, the fullness and
freeness of God's grace, and the privileges of His
people, are not the subjects most necessary to his
situation. He requires rather to have the solem-
nity of his obligations, and the sacred claims of
duty urged home upon his attention, that they
may awaken him to a sense of his unfaithfulness,
and lead him to repentance. So when a Christian
is engaged in prayer, an inclination to read or con-
verse, so far from promoting devotional feeling,
may produce only a disturbing effect on his mind.
This is making religious duties interfere with each
other, and thus cannot proceed from the Spirit of
God, which is a Spirit of order. Even thoughts
which relate to good objects, and which, in their
proper connection, would be highly beneficial, may
become '-^ vain thoughts," by being out of place,
and may greatly hinder us in the worship of God.
Endeavor, then, to nourish pertinent thoughts, and
make a seasonable use of your spiritual treasure.

3. This treasure must be used with sincerity.
My meaning is, that in your exhibition of it you
should beware of hypocrisy, make show of no more
thaa you really have, and profess not to have that

RULES FOR ITS EMPLOYMENT. 325

to which you never attained. There are many
forward professors, who talk of things which thoy
understand not, and boast oT truths, graces, com-
forts and experiences, which they never felt in
their own hearts. Like the false prophets, who
'^ stole the word every one from his neighbor,'^
they glean up from others certain phrases, expres-
sions, and observations, of whose meaning they
have no experimental knowledge, but which thoy
learn and speak by rote. They resemble those
pretended scholars, who make a great parade of
learning, and talk fluently about many books which
they never saw ; but who, on being well sounded,
are found to be extremely shallow and superficial.
In this particular, as in all others, there is a wide
difference between a hypocrite and a real child of
God. The former cares not how good he makes
men believe he is. The latter is afraid lest others
should think too well of him, and is jealous of
creating expectations which his true character will
not warrant. His heart is constantly distressed by
this one thought, that he is not such as men deem
him, and has not such a treasure of holiness as
they attribute to him. Often does he say thus to
himself; "By my discourses, prayers, and out-
ward carriage, I have given my dear friends occa-
sion to imagine there is more good in me than
there really is. They see the better side ; but
28

32G HEART-TREASURE.

God and my conscience know that beneath this
garnished surface, there is much rottenness of
heart, and impurity of motive." It was this which
made the martyr Bradford subscribe his name with
the epithet of a very painted hypocrite. Nay, this
it is which lays many a good man under a tempta-
tion, not to appear well to others, lest his measure
of grace within should not bear out his professions.
This is doubtless an extreme and mistaken view ;
yet it is a good token of sincerity, when a reputa-
tion for piety, though well founded, tends to pro-
mote humility and self-abasement. But that to
which I especially urge you, is uprightness in word
and deed. Let your heart and tongue be tied to-
gether. Strive rather to be good than to seem
good. Approve your heart unto God, that your
praise may be from Ilim, and not from men.
Profess to be what you are, and be what you pro-
fess ; and be sure to have that within you to which
you outwardly pretend. Such uprightness will
both evince the reality of your treasure, and serve
greatly to increase it. "■ The upright shall have
good things in possession." Alas ! what will fair
words and a false heart advantage you? Fine
flourishes and a polluted inside will render you
odious. Groundless boastings end in woful dis-
grace. God knows what you have, and men will
know in time. ^^ Burning lips and a wicked heart

RULES i^OR ITS EMPLOYMENT. 327

ave like a potsherd covered with silver dross."
That is, professions, dictated by an insincere heart,
however ardent and specious they may appear, arc
like a worthless vessel overlaid with tinsel. The
gilded dissembler may make a fair show of seeming
zeal; but his inward unsoundness shall at length
be detected. ''His wickedness shall be showed
before the whole congreg^alion." Some men's re-
ligion is like pepper^ hot in the mouth, but cold in
the stomach ; or like a man in a fever, whose face
and outward parts glow with unnatural heat, while
the chill of death is at his heart. 0 what fervent
zeal do many manifest in external profession, who
are either entirely destitute of a principle of grace,
or, at least, want that degree of it to which they
pretend. Bishop Hall, in answer to one who af-
firmed that " it is good to accustom the mouth to
speak well, since good speech many times leads to
good affections," very judiciously says, "I should
fear that speaking well, without feeling, would be
the readiest way to draw a man into habitual hypo-
crisy." Let me, then, earnestly persuade you to
cultivate sincerity and simplicity of heart. A
uniformly consistent life can spring only from the
operation of vital piety in the soul; and if the
principles and motives which guide you are up-
right before God, your outward walk cannot be
dark and crooked in His account. ''If thine

528 HEART-TREASURE.

eye be single; thj whole body shall be full of
light/'

4. Draw out your treasure suitably. In other
wordS; you must not only act agreeably to what
you haye within, so that your layings out may not
be more than your layings up ; but you must pro-
duce holy expressions and actions in some degree
commensurate with God's vouchsafed means and
appointed ends.

Let your treasure within and your performances
without correspond to your receipts and advan-
tages. Where God lays out much. He locks for
much in return. The more pains He takes, the
more fruit He expects. You must not only bring
forth '' good fruit/' but " much fruit/' that you
may glorify God, and benefit the souls of your
fellow men. The impenitent and unregenerate
manifest a prodigious contrariety to the Lord's
tillage ; but the godly soul should not be sterile
and unproductive under His culture. Enclosed
grounds should not be like the barren wilderness.
God's garden should be more fruitful than the
common field. Trees, which the Lord hath planted
and watered, are not to be like the trees of the
forest. Well tilled souls should abound in fruits
of righteousness. The Church is compared in
Scripture to a vineyard, and particular Christians
to vines. Now, the sole value and purpose of the

RULES FOR ITS E3IPL0YMENT. 329

vine consist in the fruit which it bears. If it be
unfruitful, it is good for nothing, not even, as the
prophet tells us, " to make a pin, to hang any
vessel thereon/' So the great end for which
Christians have been redeemed and called is, that
by a holy life they might display and illustrate
the manifold grace of the Saviour. " Ye have not
chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained
you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and
that your fruit should remain.'' And if the pro-
fessed followers of Christ fail to do this, they are
utterly useless both to God and man. They have
become as withered branches, which " men gather
and cast into the fire, and they are burned."

Reader ! art thou planted in the vineyard of
the Lord ? Consider the varied and ample ci'lture
which He has bestowed upon thee, and ask th}'-
Belf what returns thou hast made. If thou hast
not brought forth wild grapes, hast thou bro\ight
forth full grapes, ripe grapes, clusters large and
sweet, pleasing to God, and salutary to those
around thee ? Has not thy best obedience been
too constrained and heartless ? And hast thou
not often acted rather from a spirit of bondage
than of liberty? Has not God, then, a contro-
versy with His ungrateful vine ? May He not
justly command His clouds to rain no more upon
it ? Has He not threatened to cast the wild vinos
28*

330 HEART-TREASURE.

into eternal fire, and even His own vines, wlien
unfruitful; into the furnace of sharp afiliction?
0 beware, thou barren vine ! Bring forth fruit.
Answer God's call and cost. As the heavens hear
the earth in sending down fructifying showers,
and as the earth hears its inhabitants in producing
abundant supplies ; so hear thou the Lord's sum-
mons, and respond, with answerable fruitfulness,
to the droppings of the sanctuary, and the sweet
influences of divine grace. Abound in the fruits
of the Spirit, which are " love, joy, peace, long
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance." These, when wrought in thee by
the Holy Comforter, and brought forth by thee in
the temper and practice of thy daily life, are
accepted and honored by God as His own fruits.

Employ your treasure also in such a manner as
to answer God's appointed ends. These are His
own glory, your personal sanctification, and the
spiritual profit of others. Be not self-seeking, but
self-denying in your layings out; otherwise you
will lose both your labor and your reward. Indeed,
it is a sign only of barrenness, when we bear fruit
but to ourselves. '^ Israel is an empty vine, he
bringeth forth fruit unto himself." The true
believer, on the other hand, makes it his supreme
object to honor God in all that he does. And this
the fruits of holy obedience are well fitted to ac-

RULES FOR ITS EMPLOYxMENT. 331

complish. The vine of Eslicol will commend the
land of Canaan, Clusters of ripe grapes will glo-
rify God, the chief Husbandman, and evince the
fatness of the soil, even the courts of the Lord,
and the institutions of His Gospel. The glory of
God, as manifested and displayed to His creatures,
is promoted by our faithfulness and activity in
His service. *' Herein is my Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit.'' And is it not a blessed
thing to be an instrument in glorifying God ?
This was the end of our creation, of our redemp-
tion, and of all the impulses and operations of the
sanctifying Spirit. While, therefore, you endea-
vor to be richly covered with the fruits of right-
eousness, make the glory of God at all times your
grand aim and purpose. The observant Christian,
who diligently cultivates the vineyard of his own
soul, may properly reap the comfort which such
care is calculated to afford ; but let him give all
the glory to Christ, to whom only it belongs. Let
the language of the Psalmist be ever the motto of
his feelings and of his conduct. ^' Not unto us,
0 Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give
glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth's sake."
God will not suifer His glory to be given to ano-
ther. It is gross sacrilege to attribute any merit
to ourselves. '^ Let him that glorieth glory in
the Lord." If you are called to make a confession

332 HEART-TREASURE.

of your faith; and to produce your treasure before
a persecuting and gainsaying world, be not afraid
of men, or ashamed of the Gospel, but speak out
boldly for Christ, and avow, without shrinking or
reserve, your adherence to Him, and your devo-
tion to His cause. In all such circumstances, let
the direction, given by the apostle Peter, furnish
the rule by which you act. " Sanctify the Lord
God in your hearts : and be ready always to giva
an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of
the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear."
This passage sets before you the profession which
you are required to make. " Be ready always to
give an answer to every man that asketh you a
reason of the hope that is in you." Blink not
your light : disguise not your sentiments, in ac-
commodation to the prejudices, or from a dread
of the frowns of men. It also teaches both the
principle which should control you, and the end
which you should seek. " Sanctify the Lord God
in your hearts." Honor Him, by making His
grace the source of all your actions, and His glory
their aim. And then it describes the disposition
of mind with which you should stand forth on the
side of truth — '' with meekness and fear" — not in
a boasting, ostentatious, or contentious spirit ; but
in the exercise of humility, benevolence, and a
reverent regard for the authority of God. Some

RULES FOR ITS EMPLOYMENT. 333

may speak confidently, and act fearlessly, and
ev2n consent to suffer for a good cause, and yet be
the Devil's martyrs, because their only motive is,
to gain reputation among men, to uphold an opi-
nion, to please a faction, to gratify a caprice, or
merit something at the hands of God. The mo-
tive makes or mars the action. Yaiu glory spoils
great achievements. Many bear the cross who
do not follow Christ. They are conformed to
Him in the fact of suffering, but very unlike Him
in the temper with which they suffer. But such
will never receive the reward of those who suf-
fer for Christ's sake. The same may be said of
prayer, of almsgiving, of duties that involve self-
mortification, or of any other excellent ways of
laying out a treasure. If they spring from no
higher principle than that men may take notice
of them, the work is as if it were not done, and
the doer in danger of being undone.

Subordinate to the glory of God, the good of our
own souls and of the souls of others should be the
result to which all our labors are directed. God
has so closely connected His glory and the good of
souls, that both may be promoted together. ''As
every man hath received the gift, even so minister
the same one to another, as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God; that God in all things

334 HEART-TREASURE.

may be glorified through Jesus Christ." Thus
feel and act. Make the glory of Grod the ultimate
end of your being, and seek to advance that glory
by care for your own salvation, and by intense and
ceaseless efforts for the salvation of a dying world.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE EXCELLENCE AND ADVTANTAGE OF HAVINOk
A TREASURE IN THE HEART.

In approaching the close of my subject, I would
offer, at this point, some remarks suited both to
encourage those who possess the treasure which
has been described, and to stimulate such as are
destitute of it, to make its attainment their first
and highest aim. And with a view to this, I shall
further illustrate, in several particulars, the value
and usefulness of such a treasure in the heart.

1. A spiritually endowed soul is of great worth.
It is the rarest piece of all God's workmanship.
It is that surpassing product, on which the al-
mighty Builder has bestowed matchless care and
skill, as well as infinite love and grace. When He
formed the worlds, a single omnipotent word spoke
them into being. But when He would restore His
lost image in man, a far more costly exhibition
was demanded. Every attribute was put in requi-
sition. Wisdom must devise the way. Justice
must guard the Divine authority. Mercy and
Love must send the Son to become incarnate, and

(335J

336 HEART-TREASURE.

])y His obedieuce and death to make atonement
for sin, and vindicate the law which we had broken.
And then the Holy Spirit of power must descend
to apply the sacrifice, and regenerate the soul.
This moral transformation, thus wrought in the
heart, is a greater work, and of more value, than
the whole material universe. A renewed soul is
the epitome of the creation, the clearest likeness
of the Divinity on earth, the true portraiture of
God in man, and a blessed treasury of spiritual
perfections. The soul is the glory of man, and
grace is the glory of the soul. Every man is so
far excellent as he is religious. A Christian's
greatest ornament and dignity consist in what he
is with respect to God. Gracious souls are truly
precious, and such as are precious in God's account
are honorable, and of more worth than the richest
princes and largest kingdoms. Well may they be
the Lord's jewels, who have a treasure of jewels
locked up in their breasts. These precious sons
of Zion are comparable to fine gold, though men
esteem them as earthen pitchers. It is true, that
they exhibit little of outward splendor to attract
the carnal eye. As it was with their Divine Re-
deemer and Exemplar, of whom His despisers said,
" He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we
see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire
Him ;" so the saints may appear mean and sordid

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 337

to external view; but could you penetrate their
hidden being, you would find them all glorious
within. They are like the tabernacle built by
Moses, whose outside was covered with rams' skins,
goats' hair, badgers' skins, and such coarse mate-
rials; but whose inside was adorned with gold,
silver, precious stones, and curious workmanship.
In this two-fold aspect, the servants of God are
compared in Scripture to the tents of Kedar, and
to the curtains of Solomon. The word Kedar
signifies blackness, and the posterity of Ishmael's
second son, which bore this name, dwelt in tents
made of hair cloth. Thus believers are now dwell-
ing in tents, and through the afflictions, persecu-
tions, and infirmities, incident to them in this
weary pilgrimage, are black and unlovely to the
sight. But could you open the tent door, and loo'k
into the secret cabinet of their hearts, you would
discover a treasure of the rarest gems that ever
mortal eyes beheld. You would see them to be
" as comely as the curtains of Solomon" — as glo-
rious and beautiful as the embroidered hangings
that surrounded his regal couch. Take another
familiar illustration. If you were to see an earthen
pot full of gold ; and if, while you looked only at
the outside, and knew nothing of what was within,
you were asked its value, your answer would pro-
bably be, a few pence. And yet that insignificant
29

838 HEAET-TREASURE.

vessel might, with the treasure in it, be worth
many thousand pounds. A coarse canvass purse
may contain a vast sum of mone}". A Christian is
not to be rated according to his poor facing, but
according to his rich lining. He has a priceless
treasure in a rude earthen vessel. You must not
censure him before you see every part of his char-
acter fully disclosed at the great day. His true
and real life is now hid with Christ in Grod; but
when Christ, who is his life, shall appear, then
shall he also appear with Him in glory. The
saints are here as princes in disguise. They are
walking in a strange country ; and it doth not yet
appear who or what they are. But God has His
time to unvoil their dignity, and reveal their ex-
cellence. 'J'ho pearl cannot be seen till the shell
of the fish is broken ; and when these vile bodies —
these rough integuments which envelop the soul —
are dissolved, then this precious treasure will be
manifest. 0 the exceeding worth of a poor de-
spised child of God ! His bosom would dilate
with holy exultation, did he fully perceive the
honor which the Lord has put on liim, and the in-
estimable wealth which He has laid up in him
Man is said to be a little world in himself; but
the Christian has an embryo heaven in his heart.
He possesses a monopoly of the best commodities,
a rich magazine of invaluable things for the de-

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 889

light of God, the profit of men, and the comfort of
his own souL Though the wicked account the
followers of Christ not fit to live in the world, as
though this earth were too good for them; yet
God regards the world as not worthy of them.
They are too good to breathe in this foul air, and
shall be translated to heaven. ''A Christian,"
says Luther, " is a son of God, the heir of a king-
dom, the brother of Christ, the companion of an-
gels, the lord of the world, a partaker of the Divine
nature.'^ Be encouraged and cheered, therefore,
0 thou trembling saint, by the thought of what
thou art. Be alarmed and aroused, 0 thou care-
less worldling, by the thought of what thou art
not. Who would not prefer the spiritual wealth
of the one, with all his earthly trials, to the
spiritual poverty of the other, with all his earthly
delights ? Methinks the view of what a Christian
is, and the prospect of what he shall be, should
excite in every rational mind a holy ambition to be
filled with these riches, and to be clothed with all
this glory.

2. This treasure prepares its possessor for all
conditions. Nothing can come amiss to one thus
furnished. He is in a situation to receive all dis-
pensations with contentm.ent and security ; for no
temporal vicissitudes, however calamitous, can af-
fect his real interests, or shake the foundation of his

340 HEART-TREASURE.

peace. Let Paul and Silas have their treasure
with them, and they can sing in the stocks at mid-
night. Let David be in a pilgrimage, his treasure
will make him both company and melody. A
Christian cannot be parted from his treasure ; but
wherever he goes, he can say with more truth than
the ancient philosopher, '■^ I carry my all with me."
When Cyprian was threatened by the Roman pro-
copsul with banishment, he answered, " He is no
exile, who has God in his mind.'' Separate God
from the believer, and you would indeed undo hira.
If you could rob him of the possession of grace,
you might make him miserable ; but not otherwise.
He that is out of hell, and has a heaven in his
heart, can have no cause of shame or terror. When
he is under sharp trials, and others condole with
hira, he may say as Christ did to the daughters of
Jerusalem, "Weep not for me, but weep for your-
selves." In regard to sufferings that may lie before
him, he can exclaim with Paul, "I am ready, not
to be bound only, but also to die for the name of the
Lord Jesus." God has deposited a treasure in his
heart, and he is willing to employ it in whatever way
the Lord shall require. In being thus laid out, the
treasure is not impaired, but increased. By afflic-
tions, truths are inj proved, graces exercised, expe-
rience enlarged, comforts wonderfully augmented ;
and these permanent advantages more than coun-

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 341

terbalancc tlio temporary anguish of sorrow. "No
chastening for the present secmeth to be joyous,
but grievous ; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the
peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who are
exercised thereby.'^ The believing Hebrews took
joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing in
themselves that they had in heaven a better, and
an enduring substance. Observe, they knew it in
themselves, that is, they had a lively experience of
it in their own hearts, and now by the loss of their
worldly estates this experience was made more
clear, increased, and confirmed. " It is,'' says
Tertullian, " an excellent merchandize, to lose
some things, that we may gain greater." 0 blessed
exchange, to part with earth for heaven, to be
stripped of temporal riches, and to receive eternal
riches into the heart ! A single particle of true
grace is of more value than mountains of wordly
wealth; and happy is the soul that loses the latter,
to be endowed with a large share of the former.
Trace the path of that noble army of martyrs, of
that " cloud of witnesses," brought to view in the
eleventh chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews ',
and learn from their example to fear not man, and
to shrink not from any furnace of trial ; for you
shall be infinite gainers in the final result. A trea-
sured soul is still gathering more to itself from
every dispensation of its heavenly Father, from His
29=^

342 HEART-TREASURE.

rebukes and corrections, as well as from the inter-
positions of His kindness and favor. For every
event a sincere and upright heart is prepared,
being no less contented than edified with whatever
God does, and disposed to make a good improve-
ment of all the dealings of His hand, and all the
arrangements of His wisdom.

o. This divine treasure qualifies the saint for
noble entcrprizes. " The people that know their
God, shall be strong and do exploits/' while un-
sound professors may be corrupted by flatteries, or
chased away by threats. The greater treasure you
have, the more signal things may you do for God.
The Lord will own you to achieve much for Him ;
nd you shall glorify Him in suffering much for
His cause. Paul was well stored with this trea-
sure ; and what mere man ever accomplished more
for God ? Who ever traveled over so much of the
world to publish the message of salvation, as this
unwearied apo.stle ? From Jerusalem round about
unto Illyricum, he fully preached the Gospel of
Christ. Throughout the various provinces of
Asia Minor, in Macedonia, in Achala, in Home,
then the centre and metropolis of the civilized
world, he proclaimed the tidings of redemption ;
visiting, in the fulfillment of his mission, the most
remote and inaccessible districts ; encountering
the severest privations and hardshijjs; ''in jour-

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 343

neyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of rob"
bers, in perils by his own countrymen, in perils by
the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the
wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among
false brethren ', in weariness and painfulness, in
watchings often, in hunger and thrist, in fastings
often, in cold and nakedness." So fully did
he verify his own declaration, that " he labored
more abundantly than they all.'' And whence
was it that he thus surpassed others in the extent
of his toils and sacrifices ? It was because he had
a large stock to expend, a well furnished head and
heart. The Lord, therefore, called him to more
abundant labors, and crowned his labors with more
abundant success. God usually honors treasured
souls, not only by putting them to hard service in
His cause, but by rendering them eminently in-
strumental in promoting it. Such He selects to be
captains in the warfare — leaders to go before others
in the sharpest conflicts and most harzardous un-
dertakings. And while He thrusts them into the
thickest of the %ht, His grace gives them the
victory. How often, in the days of persecution,
have even feeble women encountered and con-
quered the most learned enemies of the truth. The
subtlest inquisitors and examiners have been con-
founded by the answers of spiritually-minded Chris-
tians. Sweetly has that precious proinLse beca

844 HEART-TREASURE.

performed in God's children. *^ When they deliver
you up, take no thought how or what ye shall
speak 3 for it shall be given you in that same hour
what ye shall speak, for it is not ye that speak,
hut the Spirit of your Father which speaketh
in- you." Under His teachings, the suffering
confessors of Christ have been so inspired
with holy confidence and joy, amidst their tor-
tures, that in some instances when their bodily
organs had ceased to act, their full hearts have
found a miraculous vent. Thus Prudentius tells
us of one Romanus, a noble martyr of Antioch,
who suffered in the persecution under the emperor
Dioclesian, that when, by the command of the pre-
fect, his teeth were knocked out, and his cheeks
sorely cut with knives, he said, '' I thank thee, 0
prefect, that thou hast opened to me so many
mouths, whereby I may preach my Lord and
Saviour Christ. Look ; how many wounds I have,
so many mouths have I lauding and praising God/'
And when, by the order of his pitiless judge, his
tongue was torn out by the roots, he neverthe-
less continued to speak, saying, " He that speaketh
of Christ, never wants a tongue ; think not that
the voice that uttereth Christ hath need of the
tongue to be its minister." Of another it is re-
corded, that when his tormentors put fire and frank-
incense into his hand^ and laid him on the altar,

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 845

thinking that by the heat of the fire he would
xjatter some incense on the altar, he kept his hand
fast closed, and let the flame eat about it, singing,
" Blessed be the Lord my God who teacheth my
hands to war, and my fingers to fight/^ Though
you cannot expect such miracles in your own case,
yet fear not the extremity of trial, whether it
arise from the correcting discipline of God, or
from the opposition of evil men. If you possess
this treasure, it will be produced in such a man-
ner, and at such times, as will most honor the
Saviour, silence the wicked, and comfort your own
hearts. I know it is the discouraging apprehension
of many, that if the Lord were to call them to
sharp encounters, they should deny Him, betray
His truth, and lamentably evince their own weak-
ness. But be not dismayed, trembling believer.
The grace of God shall be sufficient for thee. Thy
little strength shall do wonders. If thou hast a
right treasure within, it will appear to the admira-
tion of others, and beyond thine own expectation.
4. A treasured soul is God's delight. In no-
thing does the Almighty more rejoice than in be-
holding His creatures filled with the good things
of His kingdom. He takes pleasure in the sons
of men. But amongst men, a believing heart is
the Lord's highest throne, and amongst sincere
Christians none can make Him so welcome^ or

346 HEART-TREASURE.

furnish Him such good eutertaiument, as he wr.ose
whole character is beautified with these blessed
ornaments. Such a soul spreads for its Saviour a
stimptuous feast, and gives Him a cheerful invita-
tion. Thus in the Song of Solomon, the Church
is represented as saying, '' Let my Beloved come
into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits.''
That is, let Him enjoy satisfaction in the product
of His own free grace. He hath provided a sacri-
fice, and prepared the feast of salvation ; and let
the graces, which His Spirit has wrought, delight
their Author. And no sooner does she invite
Him than He replies, *^ I am come into my gar-
den, my sister, my spouse : I have gathered my
myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honey-
comb with my honey;* I have drunk my wine
with my milk." In other words. He reaps the
graces and virtues of the pious soul with as much
delight, as husbandmen reap the harvest of their
fields, or grape-gatherers pluck the rich clusters
of their vineyards. 0 with what pleasure does
the Lord accept the holy actings of a treasured
saint ! But, on the other hand. He contemns
and rejects the costly offerings of graceless souls.
He cares not for their thousands of rams, or ten
thousands of rivers of oil. No, no ; a heart stored
with graces is better than a house full of sacrifices.
The trappings and parade of worship may be dis-

*ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 347

pcused witli, where the substauce is found in gra-
cious acts and heavenly dispositions. A little of
the hone}^ of true piety is more pleasing to God,
than the mere comb of duties, however skillfully
composed, and exactly performed. Happy is the
soul which the Lord thus delis^hts to visit, and
which is thus fitted to receive and entertain Him.

0 that we could say with the Church, ^^ At our
gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and
old, which I have laid up for Thee, 0 my Be-
loved !" In a similar spirit, let each of us say,
this grace or that disposition, I will lay up for my
spiritual Husband, Jesus Christ, and bring it
forth to give Him content. This smell of sweet
perfume shall greet Him at His entrance. I will
entertain Him at the doors at home, in the fields
abroad. I will bid Him welcome on all occasions.
The resolve and the wish of holy David shall be
mine. '^ I will behave myself wisely in a perfect
way. 0 when wilt Thou come unto me ? I will
walk within my house w^ith a perfect heart.''

1 will go to my closet, and there seek and find my
Father who " seeth in secret.^' I will go to His
table, and partake of His holy supper, and " while
the King sitteth at His table, my spikenard shall
send forth the smell thereof.'^ My " bruised
spices" — my exercised graces — shall be as plea-
sant odors to Him, He will smell a sweet savor

348 HEART-TREASURE.

from my sacrifices, and my prayers shall ascend
before Him as incense, acceptable through Jesus
Christ. It is not the happiness of every one thus
to enjoy Grod, or to be well pleasing to Him.
Some may come near with Moses, while others
must worship afar off. But none are so capable
of intimate communion with Him as the well fur-
nished Christian. Ordinarily, he who has the
greatest degree of personal religion, will have the
sweetest visits. To such as bring out of their
treasure the precious fruits of the Spirit, God will
open the precious treasures of His love. While
there is much good laid up for them that have
grace, it is brought forth to them that use grace.
0, then, labor to acquire much grace, and study
to employ it faithfully. Send your lamb to the
llnler of the land ; bring your offerings to Jesus
Christ. The wise men from the cast set us an ex-
ample in the welcome which they brought to the
infant Redeemer. ^' And Avhen they had opened
their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts,
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh" — answerable
to His three offices of King, Priest, and Prophet.
In the time of the law, no man was to come to the
Lord empty-handed ; and if you come full-hearted
with this treasure, and full-handed in drawing it
out, you may be lussured that the Lord will be
open-hearted to admit you, and open-handed to

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 849

fill your hungry souls with ravishing supplies.
You shall have the presence of the Saviour to
cheer you through all this night of affliction, and
to be your glory and your bliss in the regions of
everlasting day.

5. Richly furnished Christians can live well in
a time of spiritual dearth. ''In the days of famine
they shall be satisfied,'' When others arc hungry
and thirsty, and their souls fainting, the treasured
believer has a permanent supply to which he can
have recourse ; for he has laid up a stock of grace
and comfort that will stand him in stead in an evil
day. It is true, that a famine of the word is an
afflictive judgment to the saints. The ordinances
of the Grospel are their glory, the excellency of
their strength, and the desire of their eyes; and
the temporary suspension of these grieves them
more than their total loss does the wicked, although
the latter have a deeper interest in their continu-
ance. The children of God have that to live upon
which natural men have not. They possess a fund
of inward strength that will carry them to the
Rock of Ages ; a stream of grace in their hearts,
that will lead them to the Fountain of grace
Real saints are never ftimished, but are always fed
and sustained by indwe-lling supplies. They can
make a better shift than others in seasons of pre-
vailing scarcity. They have resources within
30

350 HEART-TREASURE.

themselves ; a treasure of boly truths, principles,
and aifections, safely garnered in their hearts,
which can make them a rich feast even in a
desert ; for where these are the presence of Grod
is always to be enjoyed. The well of living water,
and the hidden manna, in the bosom of a believer,
will nourish and support him in the absence of
outward instrumentalities. When he cannot go to
the assemblies of the saints, he may find in the
closet, and at the family altar, the " house of God,
and the gate of heaven.'^ The Lord is every
where to be found ; and He can make amends in
private for the want of public privileges. The
word opened and applied, in the faithful ministra-
tions of the sanctuary, is indeed convincing, satis-
fying, refreshing. But when the Christian is shut
out from these, he has still in his hands the Bible,
the source from which all their lessons are drawn,
and the promise of the Spirit to bring all things to
his remembrance. If his spiritual senses are well
exercised by habits of scriptural study and medi-
tation, why may he not preach to himself in the
want of other preachers ? A mature and esta-
blished Christian may certainly be able to digest
strong meat, though he have to carve for himself.
Luther declared a single verse of the Bible to be
of more worth than a world } but with still greater
truth may this be said of a believer's treasure, by

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 351

which he is enabled to understand and improve all
Scrii)tiire. History informs us of some Christians,
who in dark timeS; having got a few leaves of the
Bible, betook themselves to secret places, and
there read and pondered them again and again,
until, even from the fragmentary glimpses of divine
truth thus obtained, they received incredible profit
and comfort, and arrived at a high degree of
knowledge and courage. In like manner, the
children of God may seek and behold His face in
private communion with Him, in self-conference,
prayer, and praise. They may even find it a
happy exchange. The little glass of secret duties
may present the countenance of God as clearly and
as sweetly to the eye of their souls, as the broad
mirror of public ordinances. I say not this to de-
preciate the appointed institutions of the Gospel,
or to derogate from their sacredness and efficacy.
''God has ordained by the foolishness of preaching
to save them that believe." The regular and
stated dispensation of His word is the chief instru-
mentality which He employs for the conversion
of sinners, and the establishment of His people;
the main channel by which He conveys the purify-
ing influences of His grace. This, when within
our reach, is always to be preferred to every other
means of instruction and edification whatever;
and when, in the providence of God, it is with-

352 HEART-TREASURE.

drawn from us, or we withdrawn from it, the want
of open vision is greatly to be lamented. We are
to be sorrowful for the breaking up of solemn
assemblies, and to mourn sore when the gates of
Zion mourn. But what I wish to enforce is this,
that when, by persecution or other causes, public
teachers are driven into corners, or when we are
necessarily placed in situations where we can have
no communication with them, God may supply
their lack in some other way. Lest, however,
this sentime.nt should be condemned as a novelty,
I will sustain it by the words of a learned author.
" What,'' asks Buchanan, '^ shall they do who
want the opportunity of frequenting public ordi-
nances? Such," he answers, "must travel abroad,
and seek far and near for them. But if they can-
not find them, they must exercise themselves in
religious duties at home ; because the kingdom
of God is within them, and because the word,
without its public ministration, may be the power
of God unto salvation. The faithful can never be
without the matter and marrow of ordinances,
though they may be compelled to want the visible
form.'' 0 what a blessed thing is it to have, in
the possession of enlarged and thorough piety, a
perennial fountain of strength and comfort ! Who
can estimate the importance of thus carrying within
ourselves a principle that will furnish us with un-

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 353

failing light and plenty in times of darkness and
scarcity ?

6. A heavenly treasure in the heart of a Chris-
tian has this further advantage, that it turns every
thing to the increase of his stock. It is the pro-
perty of true religion, that, by a sort of holy at-
traction, it gathers contributions from all sides to
augment itself. Like fire, it converts whatever it
touches into its own nature. It is a divine alembic,
that extracts pure gold out of all substances, agree-
ably to that memorable promise, ^' We know that
all things work together for good to them that love
God, to them who are the called according to His
purpose.'' Prosperity and adversity, wealth and
poverty, renown and ignominy, thraldom and li-
berty, sickness and health, success and disappoint-
ment, satanical suggestions, violent temptations,
and victorious resistance, minister alike to this
end. Nay, such a result may even be ascribed to
the imperfections and infirmities which yet remain
in the believer — not, indeed, as their legitimate
tendency, but as the incidental effect which they
are made to produce under the overruling care of
our gracious and all-wise Ph3^sician. The most
virulent poisons, when employed by skillful hands,
may sometimes become very efficient remedies.
Thus God can so control the breakings in of temp-
tatioDy and the breakings out of corniptionj hb to
SO*

854 TIEAnT'TRF.ASTJRE.

turn tliem into an instrnment, of good— an occasion
of deeper humility — a rope to bring down the top-
sails of spiritual pride — an incentive to holy watch-
fulness and jealousy — a means to promote charity
and sympathy for others ; to endear God to us fo?
his pardoning mercy ; to alienate our hearts from
this sinning, weary world, and to make us long
more ardently for that state of final victory and
glory, in which we shall sin no more. These and
such like uses God makes of sin, or Pie would not
suiFer this putrid corpse, this " body of death," to
hang upon the souls of living saints. We know
that He designed, in His infinite and all-seeing wis-
dom, to raise a glorious structure of grace and
salvation on the ruins of Adam's apostacy, or He
would never have permitted it to take place. In
the same way, He purposes to discipline and im-
prove His children by means of their remaining
depravity, or He would wholly eradicate it at once
and forever. It was a profound view of this sin-
gular arrangement on the parfc of God^ which made
John Knox say, ''That his graces had done him
the most hurt, and his sins the most good." To
many, such a statenaent would appear to be an in-
comprehensible paradox : but an experienced Chris-
tian can easily solve the mystery, f«vr he has often,
by Divine assistance, brought heaven oat of belt,
light out of davkncsi5;, sweet advanlages fvoui sad

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADTANTAOE, 355

miscarriages. Sometimes lie can say, I had sinned,
unless I had sinned, I should have fallen, unless I
had fallen ; the farthest way about has proved the
nearest way home ; God has suffered me to break
my bones, that He might set them more strongly.
A deep-thinking divine has said : " We cannot go
to heaven by geometry ; we must fetch a compass
round by the gates of hell, and hear what news
with Satan, ere we can be duly humbled, or can
relish the promises aright.'" Yet guard well against
a mistake here. For the benefits, which may thus
arise to believers from their infirmities, no thanks
are due to sin and Satan. All is owing to the free
and sovereign grace of God, who brings good out
of evil. Nor let any adventure upon sin under the
persuasion that it will eventuate in their good.
This were to "sin that grace may abound;" which
is the Devil's logic, and a most fatal presumption.
When the Christian falls, it is only the Lord that
can help him to improve his falls for his spiritual
good ; and this the Lord will not do for those who
fall on purpose that He may raise them again. If
the servant of God, through accident or inadver-
tence, be cast from the pinnacle of the temple, he
ma}'- hope that angel-hands will preserve him from
fatal injury; but no such protection will be ex-
tended to those who deliberately fling themselves
down.

856 HEART-TREASURE.

But while God may, and often does, thus over-
rule the imperfections of. His people for their ulti-
mate advantage, it is still to the direct dispensa-
tions of His own providence that the promise more
especially refers. These, whether sweet or severe,
are all arranged and adapted to promote the growth
and development of holiness. The north wind is
sharp and piercing, the south wind soft and cher-
ishing ; but both blow good to the Christian, and
cause his graces to spring forth in lively exercise.
'-Awake, 0 north wind; and come, thou south;
blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may
flow out,'' If the balmy breath of mercy fan the
treasured soul, it melts it in devout gratitude, and
draws it nearer to God, by the sense of His un-
merited goodness. If the rough blasts of judgment
sweep over it, they drive it further from sin and
the world, and force it to shelter itself more closely
under the shadow of the Eternal Throne. The well
furnished believer can draw spiritual blessings from
the most untoward events, and gather a rich moral
harvest from the wildest and dreariest desert which
earth can show him. If from outward poverty, he
learn to be ''poor in spirit," it is a great gain, and
more to be coveted than a mine of gold. Equally
beneficial and salutary are all the lessons which
affliction imparts.

Moreover, the possession of this treasure serves,

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 357

in a manner, to consecrate all states and circnm-
etances ; so that let a man have more or less of
other things, he has sufficient if he have this within
liim. " Godliness with contentment" is not only
enough, but " gain/^ yea, ''great gain;'' it makes
up every deficiency, and sanctifies every condition.
That man has nothing who wants this; and he
who has it wants nothing else. Wicked men may
have much, but godly men have all things. When
Jacob and Esau were conversing about the present
which the foriner sent to the latter to pacify his
anger, Esau said, '' I have enough, my brother,"
and Jacob also said, '^ I have enough." But in
the strict import of the Hebrew words, Esau said,
'' I have much," and Jacob said, ''I have all," in-
timating that Jacob's treasure was far beyond his
brother's, as the whole is more than a part. The
treasure of grace, hidden in the heart of a believer,
sheds a blessing over all his outward lot, and
makes him equally contented with want or with
abundance. And though his earthly portion may
be small and scanty, yet it is more thankfully re-
ceived, does him more good, and is more cheerfully
used for the good of others, than the large and
overflowing revenues of the ungodly. ^'A little
that a righteous man hath is better than the riches
of many wicked."

7. This treasure is absolutely safe. All other

858 HEART-TREASURE.

treasures are exposed to loss. A thousand mis-
chances may befall them; a thousand accidents
may sweep them away. They may, at any moment,
be rent from our grasp ; and even should we suc-
ceed in retaining them to the last, death will soon
come to loosen our hold, and bear us into a world
where they cannot follow us But the believer's
treasure can never be lost. It is securely locked
up in the eternal Covenant, and guarded by the
inviolable promise and faithfulness of God. '^ Being
confident of this very thing, that He who hath
begun a good work in you, will perform it until the
day of Jesus Christ." It is true, that an external
profession and mental accomplishments may be
lost; but sincere, saving grace can never perish.
Genuine piety may be partially obscured, but it
cannot be dcstro3'ed ; it may be diminished for a
time, but can never be totally wasted. The infiLitc
Jehovah is the Keeper of Israel. He who is the
portion of your cup, will maintain your lot. It is
not the reality nor the strength of grace, but God
alone, that supports the Christian, and upholds him
from falling. Beceived grace will not preserve
without assisting grace; nor will faith, however
strong and habitual, of itself carry the soul on to
death and through death ; but we are kept by the
power of God, through faith, unto salvation. The
power of God is the efficient cause — faith, the in-

ITS EXCELLENCE ANI) ADVANTAGE. 359

Btrument by wlii'ch He a-cts. God keeps faith in
exercise and faith keeps the soul steadfast. They
that have Mary's part and Mary's hearty shall
never lose their portion. God will fulfill the desire
of them that fear Him, and bestow on His saints
whatever is requisite to secure their perseverance,
to give them the victory in every conflict, and to
crown them with glory in the end. " My God
shall supply all your need according to His riches
in glory by Jesus Christ.'^ This is an expression of
vast depth and fullness, implying that Gt)d has
pledged himself to meet all the possible necessities
of our Christian calling. Our heavenly Father
gives His traveling children a sufficient stock to
defray all the expenses of their earthly journey,
and to discharge, with some measure of sincerity,
every obligation which they owe to God and man.
It is true, that some saints are required to live at
a high rate, in costly duties, and a-rduous efforts of
self-denial ; but this large expenditure, so far from
impairing, only increases their store. A Christian
is no loser, but a gainer, by every sacrifice which
he makes in obedience to the Saviour, and for the
advancement of His cause. The more strength
you lay out for God, the more you receive from
Him. And this is one great means to prevent a
spiritual treasure from being lost. Preserved by
the faithful word of the Omnipotent; and kept in

St>0 HEART-TREASUHS.

constai-t use bj holj exercises, neither men no/
devils can rob you of it. You may adopt the tri-
umphant challenge of the apostle, and say^ "Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ ? Shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword ? Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through Him
that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be
able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord." Nothing in earth or
hell can loose this knot between a precious Saviour
and a gracious soul. The covenant is ordered in
all things, and sure. " The mountains shall depart,
and the hills be removed ; but my kindness shall
not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant
of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath
mercy upon thee.'' Grace is an immortal seed,
and shall abide forever. God may repent Ine be-
stowal of common gifts, but these saving gifts and
this holy calling are without repentance. All the
motions and commotions in the world cannot shake
the believer's interest in Christ. The flames which
shall burn up the world itself, cannot dissolve his
blessed union with his Saviour, but shall rather
cement and perfect it forever. He may stand upoi

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. oGl

the world's ruinSj and say, ^' I have nothing of all
this huge heap to lose. I shall noj^ be a. jot the
poorer for the stupendous conflagration of this
goodly fabric. Let brutish worldlings weep and
wail over their fair houses, their large domains,
their sumptuous luxuries, and their gorgeous attire;
I am rich still, as rich as I ever was, and richer ;
for what I once had only in hope and expectation,
I have now in full possession and enjoyment.'^
Augustine discourses sweetly concerning one Pauli-
nus, Bishop of Nola, who, having lost a great estate
by the invasion of the Barbarians, prayed thus,
" Lord, I shall not be troubled with gold and sil-
ver, since where my all is. Thou knowest f for, as
Augustine remarks, '^ he had his all there, where
He, who had foretold to the world the coming of
these evils, had warned him to deposit-and treasure
it up.^' A little after, he relates that some were
tortured by the Barbarians to make them discover
their riches ; but adds, ^' They could neither betray
nor lose that good, by Avhich themselves were good,
namely, their graces and virtues. '^ 0 what would
you not give to have your estates secured in a day
of plunder and desolation ? Here is an insuring
office — the God of heaven will secure the portion
of your souls, that it shall never be pillaged. Cer-
tainly it is a rich privilege, that in a world where
we can be sure of nothing, that which alone can
81

362 HEART-TREASTJRE.

make us liappy, that and that only can be made
sure.

8. Grod knows and owns that treasure, which is
sometimes concealed from the possessor. This is
a most sweet and consoling thought. " Our life
is hid with Christ in God ;" and frequently it is
so hidden as to be imperceptible to our own eyes,
as well as to the eyes of others. But still it is
^^ hid with God," and He that hides can find.
Saints are called God's " hidden ones;" and their
spiritual birthright and dignity may be said to be
hidden, not only with respect to their safety and
secresy, but often also with respect to the obscurity
with which they are manifested to the saints them-
selves. A Christian may have much more of God
in him than he is aware of. It is one thing to
have grace, and quite another to know that we
have grace. A sincere child of God, while he has
the seed and root of holiness, may want the bud
and blossom of actual comfort. He has always a
solid basis for divine consolations, yet, from a
variety of causes, he may, at certain intervals,
be without their sensible enjoyment. Sometimes
God withdraws the light of His countenance, sus-
pends the witness of His Spirit, and leaves the
soul in darkness and desertion. Sometimes the
believer is negligent, and does not faithfully use
the appointed means for obtaining and preserving

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 863

an assurance of his interest in Christ. Sometimes,
by seeking for more comfort than God sees fit to
bestow, he forgets, denies, and so neutralizes what
he has. And sometimes from the indulgence of a
cherished sin, from the prevalence of a worldly
spirit, or from the influence of a melancholy tem-
per, the features of the '' new man'' within him
become so veiled and clouded as not to be discerni-
ble to his view. Every Christian knows by sad
experience, that he is often at a loss, and cannot
tell what to make of his condition. He has his
nights as well as his days ; a nipping winter as
well as a flourishing summer. The sap of grace
may retreat into the root — the flowers and plants
may shrink and disappear — the streams may cease
to flow — and the whole spiritual creation in his
heart may droop and lose its verdure. Yet life is
still there. A reviving spring will come, when
the beams of the Sun of Eighteousness shall reani-
mate these hidden graces, and so draw them forth
in blossoms and fruits of holy obedience, that the
saint shall live again, and know that he lives;
shall believe, and know that he believes. In the
mean time, while he thus " walks in darkness, and
hath no light, let him trust in the name of the
Lord, and stay himself upon his God.'' Let him
cast his anchor within the veil, and repose his
troubled heart on the Rock of Ages. Faith is a

3G4 IIEAllT-TllEASUllE.

venture, and you must venture your all on this
bottom. You must confide in God when you can-
not see Him, and lean upon Him when you cannot
feel His presence. Diligently employ the means
which He has ordained for communicating com-
fort ; study His promises ; meditate on His love ;
awaken your slumbering afi'cctions; recall your
past experiences ; renew your repentance ; forsake
all sin; be importunate at the throne of grace —
and hope and joy will soon spring up afresh in
your heart. Peace is the usual result of the exer-
cise of grace ; and as the striking of flint and steel
together produces fire, so the acting of sincere
grace upon its proper object begets the light and
heat of spiritual comfort. Nay, the very pouring
out of your heart to God will be itself a precious
and healing comfort. If you have a treasure of
grace, God will, in due time, give you a treasure
of joy. Or should He, in His wisdom, delay this
for a season. He will still maintain His interest in
you, and keep you from fainting. If you have
not spiritual rejoicings, you shall have spiritual
support. If your state be not sweet, yet it shall
be sure. The grace of the Redeemer shall be
sufficient for you, and that is equivalent to the
mercy desired. The less comfort you have in the
way, the more you shall have in the end ; and it
matters little whether comfort come an hour before

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE, 365

death, or an hour after, since come it certainly
will. Amidst all jour doubts and fears, therefore,
seek to approve your heart un^o God. He searches
your heart, and knows what you are and what you
have, though neither yourself nor others know it.
He sees the principles by which you are actuated ;
watches the struggles of light and darkness within
you; and regards with favor every effort which
you make to shake off the fetters of unbelief and
sin, and walk forth in the glorious liberty of His
sons. He knows and he approves the way of the
righteous. Your path may be, for the present,
enveloped in gloom, and you may have to press
onward in it through many sorrows, and anxieties,
and conflicts. Still your end shall be peace. In
the hurry of temptation, you may be ready to mis-
judge both your character and your conduct; yet
your final happiness does not depend on the ac-
count which you may form of yourself, but on
God's account of you in Christ. A sincere be-
liever may not always be able to recognize the
actual workings of faith in his own mind, and yet
may be satisfied respecting the object of faith.
There may be times when he cannot say, I know
that I do now truly believe ; but still he can say,
I know in whom I have believed, and desire to
believe again. With a trust that wavers not be-
cause the cloud is over him, he can exclaim,
81*

3G6 HEART-TREASURE.

I know not, intlcccl, how it is with me ; I liavo
lost myself in a labyrinth of cares and fears, and
see not the path before me; yet I put my hand
into His, who knows the way and can lead me out,
and confide in Him who shed His precious blood
for my soul, to guide it in safety to the rest and
heritage of His saints.

9. The well furnished Christian has a treasure
in heaven. His best treasure, indeed, is there;
for the treasure in his heart is the counterpart of
a far richer one above. These arc always con-
joined. Never is any soul brought up to heaven,
into which God does not first bring heaven down.
He furnishes the soul by the operations of His
grace, and takes possession of it by the earnest of
His Spirit, before He fills it with glory. Reader !
hast thou a treasure laid up in thy heart ? That
is the token and pledge of a still more ample in-
vestment. Light is sown not only for the right-
eous, but in the hearts of the righteous. If pre-
cious jewels of grace are laid up for Christ in the
temple of thy soul, glorious things are laid up for
thee in the sanctuary of the New Jerusalem —
things, such as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
nor mind of man conceived. Happy art thou,
0 believer ! happy, whatever thy outward lot.
Thou mayest be the child of poverty and sufi'er-
ing; but thou art rich — '^rich in faith," and the

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 3G7

heir of an eternal kingdom. Well mayest thou
both sigh and smile at the mad and frantic vota-
ries of the world, who weary themselves for very
vanity, and torment themselves in toiling and
caring for an earthly treasure, which, when ob-
tained, begets disgust rather than content, and
leads at last to perdition. It is recorded of Stigand,
archbishop of Canterbury, that he lived very par-
simoniously, affirming that he had nothing, not
even a penny. Yet, after his death, immense
treasures which he had hidden in the ground,
were discovered by means of a key fastened about
his neck. But, alas, that key could not open the
gates of heaven, nor that treasure purchase for
him an admission into glory. Unlike this carnal
and wretched prelate, the believing soul has its
treasure above, and possesses by faith an interest
in .the Lord Jesus, who holds the key of David,
who is already entered into the holy place, and
has opened to all His redeemed ones the everlast-
ing mansions, which Pie has gone to prepare and
embellish for their reception. 0 trembling Chris-
tian ! fear not. They that belong to Christ shall
not miss of salvation. As the Head is in heaven,
all the members shall at length be there also. He
will open the world of glory to those who opened
their hearts to receive the King of Glory. The
treasure of grace raises the heart to this treasure

368 HEART-TREASURE.

jtoove, and lays up provision for an eternal state.
This stream runs to that ocean, and shall at last
be absorbed in its infinite blessedness. 0 let this
excite all to seek a treasure of grace here, that
they may have an immortal treasure hereafter.
Alas, if 3'ou acquire a treasure only for this world,
Vvhat will you do for a treasure when you must go
hence ? You cannot live here always ; and when
the hour of your departure shall arrive, how little
will all your earthly possessions avail to secure for
you an entrance into eternal happiness ! Lay up
in store for yourselves, therefore, a good founda-
tion against the time to come, that you may lay
hold on eternal life. ^^Make to yourselves friends
of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when ye
fail, they may receive you into everlasting habita-
tions." It is related of one of the kings of Sparta,
that, observing it to be the practice of his country-
men to depose their kings annually, and thrust
them into a foreign isle to live in misery — instead
of indulging in prodigality as his joredccessors had
done, he provided for himself, during his year of
office, an ample estate in the country to which he
was to be banished. Be 3rours the wisdom to act
in a similar manner. Amidst the abundance of
temporal blessings, provide for the day when you
must surrender them all, and pass into a new and
everlasting scene. Time is the seed-plot 3f eter-

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 369

nity; and what you sow here will spring up into
an infinite harvest of bliss or woe in the world to
come. 0 happy will it be for you then, if now
you sow to the Spirit ! A crown of righteousness
is prepared for those, to whom righteousness is
iaiputed bj^ the justifying merits of the Saviour,
and in whom righteousness is wrought by the
renovating influence of His Spirit. Let such bless
God for present mercy, and long for its consum-
mation in eternal glory.

10. The treasure of felicity, reserved for the be-
liever in heaven, is proportioned to the treasure of
holiness laid up in his heart on earth. It is un-
doubtedly true, that in the world above the happi-
ness of every saint will be perfect, so that they that
have least shall feel no lack. .But, at the same
time, there is the strongest reason for the belief,
that the happiness of the redeemed will differ in
degree, and that they who have had the largest
measure of grace, will have the largest measure of
glory. G-race expands the soul, and capacitates it
for receiving richer revenues of celestial light and
blessedness. If several vessels, some great and
some small, be dipped in the sea, all will be com-
pletely filled, yet the former will contain more than
the latter. So will it be with the spirits of the
glorified in heaven. Such is the immense and in-
conceivable bliss of that bright realm, that all shall

370 HEART-TREASURE.

have all, and nothing shall be wanting to any to
consummate their felicity. As it is impossible for
a soul to be in heaven and not be happy, so shall
its every faculty and its every recess be surcharged
with happiness. Each vessel of glory shall be filled
to overflowing with the new wine of the kingdom.
God shall be all in all and to all. So infinite and
all-surrounding is that ocean of glory, that the
saints shall be completely submerged in it. They
shall " enter into their Master's joy," and not
merely that joy enter into them, though they shall
be as full of it as their hearts can hold. 0 how
will they bathe themselves in those rivers of plea-
sure ! The mind shall be full of knowledge, the
will of holiness. Every aflfection shall be gratified,
every desire fulfilled. " When I awake, I shall
be satisfied with Thy likeness. '' Nor shall there
be any envying of each other's happiness, though
one star differ from another star in glory ; but each
shall bear his part in the lower or higher praises
of God, with harmonious variety, yet in perfect
symphony. Certainly, the unfading crown of glory
will be as weighty on the head of every saint as
he is able to bear, though that weight will be his
joy ; for nothing is heavy in its proper element, and
heaven is the proper element of " the spirits of
just men made perfect." Hence " the four living
creatures" — representatives of the whole^ commun-

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. d / 1

ity of the faithful — are said to '^ rest not day and
night, saying, Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Al-
mighty, which was, and is, and is to come.'' Yet
their work is their rest. And in this delightful
labor all shall engage according to their respective
powers and qualifications. Some shall sound forth
the praises of God on an instrument of six strings,
some on one of eight, others on one of ten, being
fitted by more enlarged faculties to bear a higher
part in the universal chorus of the saved. As we
know there will be degrees of punishment in hell,
since Christ has distinctly told us that final retri-
bution shall be more tolerable for some than for
others ; so, by the rule of contraries, we may infer
that there will be degrees of happiness in heaven.
And this conclusion rests not on inference alone,
but is clearly borne out by the announcements of
Scripture. " They that be wise shall shine as the
brightness of the firmanentj and they that turn
many to righteousness as the stars forever and
ever." Here we have a distinct implication that
those, who in this life are endowed with an emi-
nent treasure of spiritual wisdom, and who so em-
ploy it as to be eminently instrumental in the sal-
vation of others, shall in the life to come be in-
vested with surpassing glory. Of a similar import
is the declaration of the apostle, " He that soweth

372 HEART-TREASURE.

sparingly shall also reap sparingly ; and he" that
soweth bountifully shall also reap bountifully;"
which, as both Calvin and Beza well interpret it,
refers not only to the temporal incomes of piety
and beneficence, but likewise to their eternal re-
wards. The same truth is also plainly taught by
the Parable of the Talents, in which the honors
bestowed on the faithful servants were graduated
in exact accordance with their improvement of the
trust committed to them. From all these state-
ments, it is manifestly evident, that those whom
God honors with most grace, and who honor Him
with most service and suffering, shall hereafter be
honored with the largest measures of glory. Nor
will there be any thing of merit in all this. Hea-
ven is not conferred as so much wages for so much
work performed. Howard always implies a pro-
portion between the amount of service rendered,
and the amount of compensation paid. But there
can be no proportion between finite service and an
infinite reward. No, no : eternal life is the free
and sovereign gift of God. Let superstitious Pa-
pists seek to earn heaven by their own vain and
empty works; but let it be the joy and the glory
of real saints, that salvation is the fruit of unde-
served and matchless grace ; that their title to the
city above has been purchased by the meritorious

ITS EXCELLENCE AND ADVANTAGE. 373

blood of their Redeemer; and that the way which
conducts them to it, is paved throughout with His
perfect obedience and righteousness.

The heavenly blessedness which God has thus
in reserve for His people, and the modes and pro-
portions in which He will impart it, may involve
to us at present much of mystery. We see now
through a glass darkly, and catch but faint and
broken glimpses of the glory that shall be revealed.
But when this glory shall burst on our raptured
vision, and fill our souls with its rushing floods,
we shall know what it is, and how it is. Then
every doubt and difiiculty will be solved. Then
we shall see God as He is, and, with every faculty
irradiated by the light of His countenance, shall
know perfectly whatever is possible for creatures
to know. In the mean time, let the thought of
this coming glory incite us all to holy activity, not
only to secure a bare title to it, but that "so an
entrance may be ministered unto us abundantly
into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ.'''

32

CHAPTEH XX.

THE DOUBTING ASSURED.

In perusing the description which has now been
given of the nature and preciousness of spiritual
treasures, it is probable that many a sincere but
desponding Christian has been painfully distressed
by the thought, that these heavenly endowments
are not his own, or not his in such a degree, as to
warrant him in laying claim to the hope and peace
which they are fitted to inspire. It may, there-
fore, not be unseasonable to offer a few suggestions
for the encouragement of these trembling souls.

Alas, says one, I fear I have no such treasure
as has been described, for I have a very ignorant
head, and, therefore, an empty heart. These trea-
sures come in by the door of knowledge; but I
know nothing yet as I ought to know. I cannot
conceive aright of one truth, and how then should
I have a treasure of truths ?

To this I reply, that this sense of the poverty of

your attainments, so far from being an evidence of

the badness of your state, is, on the contrary, a

token for good. Unsanctified knowledge puffcth

(374)

Tllli DOUBTING AtSSURED. oTO

up with a conceit of imaginary acquisitions ; but
gracious souls are sensible of their defects, and
feelingly lament them. David was a saint well-
treasured; yet he says to God, ''So foolish was I,
and ignorant; I was as a beast before thee." Agur
was a wise and holy man ; yet he confesses that
he was " more brutish than any man/' nay, that
he had *' not the understanding of a man.'' It is a
hopeful symptom when Christians bewail their ig-
norance ; for the lowest humility is the highest
attainment. A perception of want and emptiness is
a proof of the reality of your spiritual riches, and a
powerful means to their increase. It is a sign thou
hast profited, when thou deplorest thy lack of pro-
ficiency. Besides, you are not to determine the
value and extent of your acquaintance with divine
truth, by the number of truths which you know,
but by the manner in which you know them, and
by the estimation in which you hold them. Do
you so prize the truth as to buy it at any rate, and
sell it at no rate ? ^ ay, are you willing to part with
your lives raihci' than with truth ? Has truth had
efficacy in your hearts, authority over your con-
sciences, and prevalence in your lives ? Do you
give up yourselves to whatever of truth you do
know, and walk with God a^ccording to the light
which you have received ? If so, then you have a
treasuic both of truth and of grace. It is won.dcr-

876 HEART-TREASURE.

ful to consider with how. little light and with how
much heat many saints and martyrs of God have
gone straight to heaven. I say not this to soothe
any in their ignorance, nor to encourage careless-
ness and sloth ; but to quiet the doubting, discon-
solate believer, who mourns over the blindness and
stupidity of his mind.

But says another. How is it possible that I can
have a treasure of grace, while I have such a trea-
sure of sin ? The Lord knows that my heart is
even stuffed full of corruption. There is such a
huge load of imperfections on my back, such a
monstrous body of death, that I much fear whether
I have any spiritual life at all. My sins bear me
down like a torrent — lust is predominant — and
how, then, can grace prevail?

I answer, it is no new thing to hear a Paul cry
out from a " body of death." Living men feel
the weight of a burden, but dead men are uncon-
Bcious of it. Dost thou really complain of the
power of sin ? Then it is a tyrant, not a king in
thy heart. Dost thou sigh and fight against it ?
Bless God for light to see it, and life to oppose it.
Dost thou invoke Almighty strength to help thee
to overcome it? The believer, even when van-
quished^ evinces his integrity by earnest cries to
God. It is not a complete conquest, so long as
the soul struggles with its enemy, and gives not up

THE DOUBTING ASSURED. 377

fle fort of tliG heart. Thou mayest have a hirge
measure of inward grace, and yet feel frequent and
impetuous workings of inward depravity. Grace
may be strong, and corruption be strong also. God
may, for wise and merciful ends, even give it a
commission to make violent incursions upon thee.
Consider only whether thy prayers against it are
ardent, thy resistance to it vehement, and thy sor-
row for it sincere and abiding. If it be thus with
thee, thou mayest have, notwithstanding all thy
lapses and falls, not only a principle of grace, but
have it in lively and vigorous exercise. Opposites
prove and illustrate each other ; and though there
be strong lustings of the flesh against the Spirit,
yet if there be also proportionate strugglings of
the Spirit against the flesh, it shows that a holy
element has been infused into the soul, which shall
finally gain a complete and glorious victory.

But the disconsolate Christian replies, You have
spoken much concerning a treasure of comforts;
yet, alas, I know not what comfort means. My
poor, mourning soul is a stranger to religious joy.
Surely, if I had any grace, I should have peace.
But instead of this, I have been long under sad-
ness, and harrassed with doubts and fears. How
can one walk in such darkness, and still be a child
of God?

To this I answer, Grace and peace are by no
32*

378 HEART-TREASURE.

means inseparable, but are often disjoined for a
time, as both Scripture and experience testify.
Many a true believer has been called to wade
through deep spiritual sorrows. A ship may sail
over a tempestuous sea to a quiet harbor. So a
soul may be buffeted by fierce winds and waves,
and yet reach the port of Endless Joy in safety.
That a Christian may have a treasure of grace, and
yet want a treasure of comfort, is evident for this
reason, — that comfort is the product of God's
Spirit, who acts as a sovereign, and not by neces-
sity ; and if the Spirit shine not upon the work
which He has wrought in the soul, it will have no
comfort, though it be full of grace. Now, for wise
and righteous purposes, God does sometimes sus-
pend the witness of His Spirit even in the hearts
of those who truly love and fear Him. Hence we
find some of the most eminent saints, whose names
are recorded on the inspired page, as Job, David,
and Heman, complaining of the want of comfort,
and lamenting the hidings of God's face. Some-
times, indeed, we find the Kedeemer Himself, who
had an infinite treasure of grace, and on whom the
Spirit was poured without measure, complaining of
being forsaken by His Father, and, consequently,
of the absence of joy and cDmfort, Do not mur-
mur, then, 0 sorrowing soul, that thou art not al-
■aya fed with those delights and delicacies which

THE DOUBTING ASSURED. 379

are the fiire of the upper table, and are reserved
for a heavenly banquet. What though thou hast
not always comfort in actual possession, yet thou
hast a solid foundation for it. What if thou art
not constantly dandled on thy Father's knee, and
kissed with the kisses of his mouth ; yet thou art
a child still. Thou canst not deny that He some-
times visits thee with heart-solacing consolations ;
and thou mightest have many more such visits, if
thou wert better prepared rightly to value and im-
prove them.

Alas, says the troubled heart, if I only knew
that my state were safe, I could be more content
amidst the want of present comfort. But I have
cause to call my whole religious character in ques-
tion. When I review my past course, I find I
have been so barren and unprofitable under the
means of grace — so unafiected by ordinances — so
uninstructed by the word and providence of God —
as to leave me little hope that I have ever been
taught by Him ^' as the truth is in Jesus." Every
aspect of my condition compels me to cry out,
'^ My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me I"
Surely, if there had been any real good in my
soul, it would have been more increased under the
many and precious advantages which I have
enjoyed.

To this I reply, that there is no Christian on

380 HEART-TREASTJRE.

earth, who has not sad cause to complain of his
luisimprovemeut of religious privileges. Where
is the man who can stand forth and say, that he
has gathered from the spiritual culture bestowed
on him all the harvest that he might have done ?
But hast thou gained nothing by thy opportuni-
ties? Has not the word, applied by the Spirit,
led thee to see thy lost state as a sinner, and to
embrace by faith the salvation of Jesus Christ?
This I trust thou canst not deny. And since that
hour of thy affiance to Christ, hast thou made no
progress in the knowledge and enjoyment of Him?
Examine thyself a little more strictly. Is not the
Saviour more endeared to thee than at first ? Do
not divine things relish better with thee ? Dost
thou not more disregard the world, and all the
preferments which it can offer thee ? Upon a
longer experience of the ways of God, is not thy
purpose to cleave to Him in spite of all opposition,
more fixed and settled ? Dost thou not every day
sec more demonstrative reasons to confirm thee in
thy choice of this better part ? And let me ask
thee, whether thou hast not grown downwards in
humility, self-denial, hatred of sin, and love to
the saints, though thou canst not say that thou
hast grown upwards in faith, hope, joy, heavenly-
mindedness, and communion with God ? Do not
expect that, in the present world, you will ever

THE DOUBTING ASSURED. ' 381

reach a point where you will have no occasion to
mourn over your want of proficiency. None at-
tain a perfect treasure in this life. So long as
you sojourn in this valley of tears, you will always
have cause to complain of defects and imperfec-
tions, which God will graciously co^r with the
perfect righteousness of your Redeemer.

But, says the poor soul, methinks I fall very far
short, not only of what I might have attained, but
of what others, with the same privileges, have
attained. I am outstripped by such as set out
long after me. Those, whose conversion was many
years subsequent to mine, have acquired a richer
treasure -of gifts and graces for the edification of
others. Lagging thus behind, what am I to think
of myself?

I answer, thou hast indeed cause to deplore thy
slow progress, and to lament that thou hast not
kept pace with others. There should be a holy
emulation amongst Christians, and a striving which
shall be richest in these good things of heaven.
Nevertheless, comparing yourself with others is
neither wise nor useful, unless it be to shame your
negligence, and excite you to more diligent endea-
vors. It is not to be expected that all Christians
will exhibit the same proficiency. Some have
better parts, and may more quickly attain to a
high degree of knowledge. Some God intends to

882 HEART-TREASURE.

call out to extraordinary service or suffering;
others He designs to snatch away sooner by death,
and so carries forward the work of sanctification
more raptidly. Besides, though many may seem
to have a larger treasure than yourself, yet you do
not know what they may have to do with it.
They may often be in great perplexity, and find
all their attainments little enough to meet the
demands made on them. They may have such
corruptions, temptations, afflictions, desertions, as
to require and exhaust a great treasure. Possibly,
too, you see only the bright side of their expe-
rience You hear their prayers, discourses, and
exercises in the presence of others; but you know
not their bitter griefs and mournful complaints
before the Lord in secret. Could you lay your
ears to their closets, you would overhear their sad
sighs and lamentations for their fullness of sin,
emptiness of grace, and corrupt frame of heart.
Your treasure, it may be, is more settled and uni-
form, and theirs more floating, and you see it when
the tide is high. You should take all circum-
stances into the account, before you judge your-
self by others. Indeed, no man is competent to
determine the spiritual character of another, since
he can judge of it only by its outward indica-
tions; and that these are not always a certain
test, is evident from the fact, that even hypocrite^

THE DOUBTING ASSURED. '383

may go beyond genuine saints in seeming enlarge-
ments.

But, replies the doubting believer, I fall below
others in real usefulness. If I had a treasure
within, methinks it would appear more to the
glory of God, and the profit of men. But I do no
good in my place ; I cumber the ground ; or if 1
bring forth any fruit, it is poor and stinted. While
I see many around me performing eminent services
for Grod, I make no returns, or returns so scanty
as to be well nigh worthless.

To this I answer, that as in the kingdom of
Christ there are diversities of gifts and operations,
so all members have not the same office, and con-
sequently not the same usefulness. Some move
in a higher, some in a lower sphere. But if thou
art placed in the heavenly orbit of the Church,
thou hast some influence. There is not a finger
or toe in the body of Christ, which has not its
appointed use, or which can be spared without
rendering the body imperfect. The smallest loop
or pin in the spiritual tabernacle serves some
necessary end, and is of some importance to the
strength and completeness of the entire structure.
The most prominent member of a church cannot
say to the humblest, I have no need of thee.
Paul, though a great apostle, stood in need of the

384 HEART-TREASURE.

prayers of the meanest Christian. An iron key
may sometimes open a lock which a silver one
cannot. There is never a saint in the world, who
knows all the good he does ; nor is his usefulness
fully appreciated by others, until he is taken
away, and his worth made manifest by his loss.
A city, a kingdom may be spared on account of
the prayers and the holy example of one righteous
person. Let not the higher members despise the
lower, since they cannot be without them; and
let not the lower envy the higher, because God
appointeth every one his station, and accepts the
faithful service of the most obscure as readily as
that of the most distinguished. A sweeper of
chimneys may honor God in his place, as well as
a pastor of souls in his. A plain Christian in a
leathern coat may, if faithful in his station, do
God as much service as a great doctor in his pur-
ple robes. If thou be serious in the work of the
Lord, thou mayest so promote His cause in thy
family, and in the circle of thy connections, as to
reflect a lustre on the whole church.

But alas, says the still desponding soul, I am so
far from increasing my treasure, that I fear I am
on the losing hand. I am spending, wasting, de-
creasing it by sinful practices. What I gain in a
duty or ordinance, I lose by some act of neglect or

THE DOUBTING ASSURED. 385

disobedience, and have much ado to recover my-
self. O this unstable, inconstant spirit! What
shall become of me ?

I answer, the case is sad, and much to be
lamented ; but so it is ever with the best of God's
children. Thus David, in reviewing his changeful
experience, says to God, ^' Thou hast lifted me up,
and east me down." While we are voyaging over
this stormy sea, we must expect a mariner's mo-
tion— to mount up to heaven, and go down to the
depths; to have rich enjoyments, and sadder de-
pressions, that we may know both how to want,
and how to abound in spiritual comforts. Some-
times our hearts are opened to receive that grace
which becomes to us a treasure; then again our
hearts seem closed up, and we are in danger
of shutting out divine incomes. Sometimes the
sails of our souls are expanded to welcome the
lively gales of the Holy Spirit; but how often are
they contracted, and then we resist His blessed
operations. We ought, indeed, to complain of this
as our sin and shame ; yet thus it must be with
us here below, to make a distinction between this
sublunary vale of vicissitude and mutability, and
the heavenly mount of • unchangeable blessedness.
It should also be considered, that the believer's
treasure may be maintained and even increased
by this variety of conditions. By standing still,
33

386 HEART-TREAS^JRE.

or falling back, lie mtiy grow more liemble, peni-
fyQutj and self-distrustful, more circumspect and
watchful, and more diligent in hastening after
God^ that be may make up for bis delays, and
recover the gro-und which be has lost. When ai
eaieful tradesman has wasted any thing, or missed
a good bargain, he will seek to make amends by
future diligence. Thus will it be with the gra-
cious soul; so that God may overrule slips, to
make a firmer standing, stumbling to produce a
speedier mation forwards, and falls to occasion
greater heedfulness and caution. Hasi thou not^
Christian^ often found this true in thine own ex-
perience ? Hast thou not been a gainer by thy
losses? Have not these spii-itual Egyptians —
thine own raging corruptions — paid tribute to
thee, to increase thy stock ? Have not these
Gibeonites been hewers of v/ood and drawers of
water, to help thee in the service of the sanc-
tuary ? I question not but thou hast found these
bitter enemies to serve as occasions;, at least, for
inciting thee to maintain a more careful watch
aver thy treasure. The Canaanites were to be to
the children of Israel as pricks in their eyes, and
as thorns in their sides. Just such are remaining
infirmities to the saints — those pricks in their eyesi
make them weep more for sin, and those thorns in
their sides spur tbem on towards tlie city o£

THE DOUBTING ASSURED. 387

refuge. There are different sorts of Cbristians.
Some are solid, sober, regular in their spiritual
exercises, and moving on with a calm, even pace
in the ways of God. Others are more variable,
sometimes pushing forward, and then drawing
back again; yet these may be God's children,
as well as the former. In some instances, this
changeableness of religious experience arises from
a natural inequality of temper, from a constitu-
tional tendency to alternate excitement and de-
pression. But whatever be its cause, these unsta-
ble souls, if sincere, are in the keeping of the
same Almighty hand which sustains all the saints;
and though they may not excel, yet they shall
hold on their way, and be still approaching nearer
to heaven, to that immutable state, where there is
fullness of joy, and where rivers of pleasure flow
for evermore.

CHAPTER XXI.

GENERAL EXHORTATION.

I SHALL now bring this treatise to a close, by a
brief and serious appeal to several classes of per-
iBons. 0 that I could prevail with all to seek as
their own the treasure which has been so largely
opened ! Methinks it should be an easy thing to
persuade men to embrace a treasure ; and yet how
hard is it to engage them to look after a treasure
for their souls I I know well what a besotted thing
the carnal heart is, and how madly it fights against
its own interests, and repels the grace that would
confer on it eternal blessings.

One would think that they who are poor in this
world would the more readily give heed to a trea-
sure for the next. Let me beseech such to reflect
on their condition and their prospects, and to let
thoughts like these find place in their minds. God
has placed me in a state of poverty and privation,
and I work hard for a bare subsistence. I toil and
drudge night and day, and yet can scarcely obtain
coarse clothing and food for myself and family. I
had hoped to have got something beforehand; but
(388)

GENERAL EXHORTATION. 389

I see it is in vain ; times are bard ; one expecta-
tion fails me after another; and I despair of
materially improving my circumstances. The world
is like a shadow — the more I pursue it, the fur-
ther it flies from me. And have I so long been
following that which I cannot overtake, and which,
if I should overtake it, can do me little good, and
may do me much harm ? And have I, in the
mean time, neglected my immortal soul, and the
attainment of that only treasure which can make
it rich and happy ? These spiritual goods are the
best that can be gained, and these may be gained,
even if temporal ones are beyond my reach.
And shall I, then, not only be poor in this world,
but poor to all eternity ? Must I live in misery
here, and then pass to greater torment hereafter ?
0 why should I be thus doubly destitute — desti-
tute of a portion on earth, and destitute of a por-
tion in heaven ? Let me rather seek to be poor in
spirit, that I may be heir to possessions better than
any which this transitory world can afford. If I
want bread for my body, Lord, evermore give me
the bread of life for my soul, the garments of
Christ's righteousness to cover my nakedness, and
fine gold that I may be rich. If the meanness of
ray condition separates me from my neighbor, let
me. Lord, be united to Thee. If I am despised by
men, let my soul be owned by its Maker and Re-
33*

890 HEART-TREASURE.

deemer. And although I have not a foot of hmd,
or a house of mine own in this world, yet give me,
0 give me a right to the mansions above, that at
death I may enter upon the inheritance of the
saints in light. Let me exhort those whose worldly
circumstances are straitened, thus to reason and
thus to act. If you cannot get earth, make sure
of heaven, and then you have a provision ample
for ail emergencies, both in this life and in that
which is to come. Keep up this trade of religion,
when other ':radcs decay. Live by faith ; seek first
the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
other things shall be added unto you ; or, if
any arc withheld, divine grace will enable you to
bear their loss, and will even render it a means of
increasing your eternal riches.

Let rich men also look after a treasure above. I
know well how difficult it is to persuade such as
have large possessions on earth, to take any pains
about an interest in heaven. It is impossible for
them that trust in riches to be saved ', and most rich
men do trust in their riches. How apt are such
to please and soothe themselves on account of their
large estates ! When the poor reproach them for
their grinding oppressions and extortions, or when
the message of God is brought home to them by
some faithful minister, how ready are they to say,
" Why should we care for the complaints of these

V3Ei\EUAL EXIIORTAI^ION, 391

starving bcggai-s, or tlie invectives of these med-
dliug priests ? We have need of nothing, and fear
ao man. It is a hard world, and every one must
take -care of liimsolf. God has beea pleased to
bless us with property j we regard this as a token
of His special favor, and have no doubt of its being
well with us at last" Such thoughts are often
working in rich men's breasts. The God of hea-
ven knows the secret self-flatteries to which yoa
cling ; but they will all be found vain and delusive
when the day of trial shall oome. When the hour
of death arrives, and your Pxaked and unfurnished
souls are about to launch into eternity, what good
will your full coffers do you ? What will you bo
the better for all the thousands which you havs
hoarded so anxiously ? They may provide for you
a splendid oouch on which to die, a gorgeous
sepulchre for your body, and a lying epitaph for
your memory ; but they cannot purchase a pass-
port for your guilty spirit into the bliss of immor-
tality. A rich sinner once exclaimed on his death-
bed, ^'Ten thousand pounds for a good eonscience!"
But, alas, pardon and heaven cannot be bought
with money. Peace and purity of conscience are
valued at a far higher rate. They cost the infinite
price of a Saviour's blood ; and are not purchased,
but freely given by God, in His own way, and ia
His own time. He was a fool that pleased him-

892 HEART-TREASUKE,

self with the conceit of satisfying his soul with full
bags, and furnished houses^ and fruitful fields.
What are these as a portion for the immortal soul,
which is spiritual in its nature, and can be filled
only with spiritual supplies ? No, no , riches profit
not in the day of wrath. You cannot stop the
mouth of conscience in the pangs of death with a
little worldly trash. Try the efficacy of wealth in
smaller things, and see whether it will remove
pain, or ward off sickness and bereavement. You
know it cannot. How, then, can it content, or
sanctify, or save the soul ? A time is coming when
the careless and greedy worldling would be glad to
exchange earth for heaven, and to give up all his
rare commodities in order to attain salvation. But
he who has made the world his God, will have no
God to sustain him when he leaves the world. He
who has spent his strength and time to compass his
worldly ends, will, in the upshot, have only his
labor for his pains. 0 how little will he have
gained, " when God taketh away his soul V 'Nsij,
these very treasures, for the acquisition of which
he has bartered his eternal welfare, shall rise up
in the judgment against him. *^Your gold and
silver," says the apostle James," is cankered, and
the rust of them shall be a witness against you,
and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have
heaped treasure together for the last days." 0

GENERAL EXHORTATION. 393

what a consideration is this, that a covetous man,
in hoarding up his ill-gotten and ill-employed
wealth, is only gathering fuel for the fire which
shall torment him forever, and that his beloved
minion, the world, for the sake of which he now
neglects his soul, shall become an instrument to
scourge him ! 0 ye devotees of sense ! think be-
times, whether your great estates will form a
screen between your sinful souls and God's flam-
ing wrath at the final day. Think betimes whe-
ther you would have God or the world to stand
your friend at death and in the judgment;
whether you would have a heart laden with this
heavenly treasure, or a conscience loaded with
guilt, and filled with excruciating anguish ;
whether you would hear that sad word, "Woe
unto you rich, for ye have received your consola-
tion,'' or the joyful summons, " Come, ye blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you/' Remember, that you are now forewarned
of these things, and that, if you disregard the
admonition, it will greatly aggravate your misery
hereafter.

Here I might admonish all ages and sexes to
have their hearts filled with this treasure. Let me
counsel you, young men, to begin the world with
this stock. This alone will qualify you for all
callings, places, relations, and conditions. You are

894 HEART-TllEASURE.

now entering upon the busy stage of life ; and you
know not what you may have to pass through before
you reach the grave. Without the treasure of true
religion, you will not be prepared rightly to act
your part in any situation ; with it, you will be
fitted for whatever Providence may have in store
for you. This will carry you through all employ-
ments, all circumstances, and all companies, with
credit and profit. It will be a safe guide and guard
in every part of your journey on earth. It will
season your younger years with gravity, prudence,
and humility 3 and will ripen your souls for hea-
ven, as your bodies are ripening for the grave. 0
my young friends, commence life with this capital,
and you shall never fail. Begin with grace, and
you shall end in glory. Make it your first business
to acquire the true riches, and the favor of God
shall cheer and brighten all your pilgrimage, and
bring you to eternal blessedness at its close.

Let the aged also be admonished to look after
this treasure. Old men are addicted to hoarding.
Here, then, is suitable work for you. Strive to
lay up in your hearts a large fund of divine truths,
graces, and experiences. In malice be ye children,
but in understanding be ye men. Give me leave
to entreat old men and fathers, to labor to " know
Him that is from the beginning.'^ You delight
much in antiquity. Here, then, is a proper object

GENERAL EXHORTATION. 395

for you to contemplate, even ^* the Ancient of
Days/' 0 mind not earthly toys and treasures,
even the best of them. Let your hoary heads be
found in the way of righteousness, your hearts
filled with the fruits of righteousness, and your
hands with works of piety and charity. Alas,
shall you be full of years, and yet empty of grace ?
Shall you be drawing near the close of your lives,
and still be destitute in the end ? 0 how sad,
that when you are about to take your leave of the
world, you should yet have laid no foundation, and
made no preparation for a better life ! Alas, what
will become of you? The Lord be merciful to you,
and lay hands on you and pluck you " as brands
out of the fire.'' A wicked old man is the most
monstrous spectacle on earth. How unbecoming
is it to hear an old man swear, to see an old man
drunk, or unclean ! It is, indeed, a most painful
and shocking sight. Such are worse, because ihey
should be better. The grey hair, which should be
a crown of glory, is a testimony of sloth, and a
monitor of approaching wrath. Ah ! think it not
strange, if at the great day you are placed on the
left hand, since you have sought all your lives only
left-hand blessings. May God awaken you to pro-
vide for eternity, before the flames of hell awaken
you when there is no remedy.

Let each and all, without fail, without dallying

396 HEART-TREASURE.

or delay, give diligent heed to the acquirement of
this treasure. Let your souls be replenished with
a store of holy thoughts. You are always think-
ing ; the mind is never idle, but ever active and
in motion. 0 furnish it with suitable employment !
Bring some work to this mill-stone, else, as Luther
says, " it will grind itself thinner,'^ or be as a lamp
that is soon extinct without a fresh supply of oil.
You can neither discourse in company, nor spend
your time in retirement profitably, without the
treasure of genuine religion. You need it in every
state of life, in sickness and in health, in joy and
in sorrow, in success and disappointment, in youth
and in age. This only can bear you through the
world, and through death, to immortal glory.

In conclusion, I would offer a few words of ad-
vice to those precious ones, into whose bosoms the
Lord hath dropped this heavenly treasure. These
I would urge to bless God for it ; to live up to it ;
to esteem it highly; to maintain and increase it;
and never to part with it on any terms. In all the
changing scenes through which you pass, watch
narrowly, lest it be impaired, injured, or wasted.
It is a greater loss to lose one grain of grace, than
a mine of gold, or both the Indies. The gaining
of the world cannot countervail the loss of a soul ;
and if your treasure be lost, your souls are lost.
^^ Take fast hold of instruction ; let her not go ;

GENERAL EXHORTATION. o97

keep her ; for she is thy life." Let all go rather
than part with your treasure. Should you he
called to wade through deep waters of affliction, or
to encounter the stormiest waves of persecution,
you must still preserve inviolate the trust which
God has committed to you, and make not shipwreck
of faith and a good conscience. Let neither the
frowns nor the smiles of the world roh or cozen
3^ou of this glorious treasure. Say with Job, '' Till
I die, I will not remove mine integrity from me.
My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it
go ; my heart shall not reproach me so long as I
live." Make use of your stock on all occasions.
Develop and mature the seeds of grace. Bring
forth much fruit. Lnprove your treasure for main-
taining constant intercourse with God. Josephus
tells us that a tumult was raised among the Jews,
because their holy treasure was wasted on a con-
duit. But if you spend your treasure in keeping
up channels of communication between God and
your hearts, it will produce an increase, and pre-
serve peace with God, and peace of conscience.
Communion with God will compose all mutinous
insurrections in your own breasts. Pay to Him
the constant tribute of duty and obedience. Give
Him the glory of all that He has done for you
Sweep the temple of your hearts free from all dust
and filth, and prepare a clean lodging for this hea-
34

398 HEART-TREASURE.

venly Guest. The Holy Comforter is compared to
a dove, and we know that the dove is a delicate crea-
ture, and will leave its nest when it is defiled. So
will the Spirit cease to dwell in our hearts, if they
are full of the rubbish and corruption of earth.
Be holy, therefore, in all your thoughts, and in all
manner of conversation. Learn that blessed round
which Enoch took of walking with God. Solace
yourselves in Him, and scorn every temptation
which the world can olFcr, to divert your affections
into another channel. Ask it what it can give as
an equivalent for the loss of communion with God ?
Can it give pardon of sin, peace of conscience,
grace here, and glory hereafter ? If it say it can,
believe it not ; it is a vain boast, an impudent lie,
like that of Satan to Christ. If it cannot, as cer-
tainly it cannot, why should you leave the sub-
stance, and embrace the shadow ? 0 make not so
mad, so suicidal a bargain ! I insist the more upon
this, because there is great and constant danger,
lest you should be cheated out of your treasure by
the world, as Sampson was beguiled by Delilah.
Do not delight in the creature, lest it abate your
content in God Be not afraid of afflictions that
accompany godliness, for you may get a larger in-
crease of your treasure by trouble, than by any
other means. It is reported of a certain emperor,
that passing by a cross upon a marble stone, and

fJENERAL EXnORTATTON. 590

causing it to be dug up, lie found under it a largo
cellection of gold and jewels. So do gracious soul^
find treasures under their crosses.

The Lord engage all jour hearts to make sure of
this treasure, and suitably to value it. Lock it up
in the inmost closet of your souls ; lay it out in
ways of holiness as the Lord gives opportunity ;
raise your aifections heavenward ; do all the good
you can in your several stations ; sanctify the name
of the Lord in all you do or receive ; watch over
your own spirits ; be faithful unto death — and He
will give you a crown of life. Impress these
words of Cyprian deeply on your minds. "Thou
who art enlisted and set apart to this heavenly
warfare, keep incorrupt the discipline of religious
virtue. Be constantly diligent in prayer or read-
ing. Now converse with God ; and now hear Him
converse with thee. Let Him instruct thee by His
precepts ; let Him dispose of thee. Whom He
makes rich no man can make poor; nor can pov-
erty have any power over thee, when once thy
breast has been satisfied with celestial delights."
0 blessed is the soul that has this treasure, and is
mounting upwards to an everlasting inheritance in
the presence of God and the Lamb !

Pteader ! if thou art thus endowed, favored is thy
lot, beyond all power of language to express, or of
thought to conceive Thou mayest be subjected

400 HEART-TREASURE.

to many trials. Spiritual enemies may "beset and
liarrass thee. Toil and difficulty and conflict may
encompass thy path. Affliction may lacerate thy
hearty and bereavement strip from thee every
earthly joy. Want and sorrow may be thy inse-
parable attendants. The world may be to thee a
desert, and thou mayest be called to traverse all
its howling waste with weary feet and bleeding
bosom. But thou carriest that within thee which
can sustain thee under every burden, and bring
thee in triumph through every struggle. In the
possession of evangelical piety, thou hast a gem of
incalculable price — the pledge of Almighty support
and guidance — a light to cheer the darkest steps of
thy pilgrimage — the sure passport to everlasting
rest. Prize, then, above all worldly good, this
celestial deposit. Cling to it as to thy life. Pre-
serve it undiminished and untarnished. Draw
from it hope and peace amidst all the storms and
agitations of earth. Soon shall the season of labor

o

and of suffering be over; and in thy Father's house
on high thou shalt enjoy the abundance of those
imperishable riches, of which thy treasure here is
the germ and the precursor.

416

THE END.